BELLAIRE — Bellaire Police Chief John J. Watson typically fights crime, but on Tuesday afternoon he fought a fire and won.

On Tuesday afternoon, multiple departments were called to a structure fire at a Bellaire residence.

The fire occurred at 3069 Guernsey Street. The building is a duplex, occupied on both sides according to OR&W Fire District Chief R.C. Fellows.

The address of the second residence within the building is 3077 Guernsey Street.

Bellaire Police Chief John J. Watson was the first to arrive at the address after the fire was reported

“We arrived on the scene and didn’t see any smoke or flames or anything like that. The homeowner met us outside, we were able to open the front door and see where the fire was,” Watson said.

After observing the situation, Watson returned to his police cruiser to obtain his fire extinguisher and proceeded to put the fire out.

Due to Watson’s quick thinking, the flames were extinguished before the Bellaire Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the scene. Once the fire department arrived, members double-checked the house to make sure all of the residents had exited the premises and continued to check the house for additional fire or smoke. The Bellaire Volunteer Fire Department received additional help from OR&W, Martins Ferry Volunteer Fire Department, Neffs Fire Department, as well as the Bellaire Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services vehicle. The Bridgeport Police Department was called to assist with traffic control.

“At this point, we have no idea, the homeowner said she was home, and then the next thing she knew she saw smoke,” Watson said.

Watson said the homeowner was the only resident inside the house at the time of the incident and no injuries or fatalities occurred.

Fellows confirmed that no one was injured but added that a resident was being evaluated for smoke inhalation. He said the cause of the blaze remained under investigation late Tuesday, but he noted that the flames appeared to originate in the area of the furnace.