Fire burns La Pine-area shop; crews save residence

A fire Tuesday evening destroyed part of a mixed-use building south of Sunriver that housed both a shop and a non-permitted residential unit, La Pine Fire Chief Mike Supkis said.

La Pine Rural Fire Protection District firefighters responded around 7:30 p.m. to the 16900 block of Kasserman Drive on a report of a shop on fire, Supkis said.

Crews arrived to find the shop portion of the 20-by-40-foot single-structure fully involved, with several propane and fuel tanks also on site, the fire chief said.

Crews were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the residential half of the building, quickly knocking down the fire and protecting nearby structures, Supkis said.

A total of 18 firefighters responded with an engine, three water tenders and three support units.

No one was reported in the structure when the fire broke out, according to the fire chief, who also noted that there were no smoke detectors present.

No injuries were reported. Firefighters were on the scene for about 2 ½ hours.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Supkis said they are looking closely at a possible electrical cause, due to the area of origin. He also said there was a “significant amount of non-standard wiring, such as numerous extension cords used as permanent wiring.”