Spotting the orange flames and a plume of smoke, a quick-thinking neighbors helped keep a Jan. 28 one-alarm residential fire near Juanita Bay from turning deadly.

A witness reported seeing flames and smoke around the lakefront home on 2095 Rose Point Lane at around 9:30 a.m.

Six fire engines and crews from Kirkland, Redmond, Woodinville and Bothell Fire Departments responded to the blaze. Home at the time, residents Cristina Crescenzi and Paul Barry escaped unharmed.

Kirkland Fire Department spokesperson Robin Paster said the shingled roof of the home and an attached carport were destroyed, along with a Nissan Pathfinder SUV and a BMW motorcycle parked inside. A third vehicle, a Toyota Rav4, also suffered minor fire damage. The rest of the two-story home sustained damage from smoke, water and falling debris.

“The home is uninhabitable at this time,” she said.

Kirkland Fire investigators determined the cause of the fire was a “failure in the fuel system” of an idling motorcycle, parked in the home’s carport at the rear of the home.

The damage could have been worse if it wasn’t for Juanita mother Christy Tremblay’s quick thinking. She was pushing her daughter in a stroller along the Juanita Beach Park pier when she noticed puffs of smoke rising the home and made the first 911 call.

Moments later, a series of loud bangs – thought to be explosions from the vehicles as they burned -– alerted the residents and neighbors. In all, 18 calls were received alerting authorities to the fire. Kirkland firefighters arrived five minutes after the first call was made.

“Everybody got out,” Crescenzi said. “That’s all that matters.”

The entire property was recently estimated at more than $3 million and is registered in Barry’s name, according to county property tax records.

Prior to seeing the interior of the 3,000 square-foot home, a fire investigator estimated the structural replacement cost at approximately $500 thousand.