La Pine family hit by second house fire in three years

A La Pine mother and three children smelled smoke, spotted fire and fled their burning home late Monday night – a manufactured home only recently moved to the site off Burgess Road to replace their home destroyed by fire less than three years ago.

And again this time, the blaze claimed two pets’ lives, and the Red Cross stepped in to help the family.

La Pine Rural Fire District crews were dispatched at 11:36 p.m. Monday to the reported structure fire at 15800 Burgess Road, arriving to find a double-wide manufactured home with the entire attic on fire, extending into the living space, said Capt. Fred Franklin.

Fire Chief Mike Supkis said occupant-owner Tina Blake and three children had evacuated after smelling smoke and noticing that the ceiling near the wood stove pipe was on fire.

Shortly therafter, he said, the smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms in the house began to sound. The family tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher without success, called 911 and left the home.

There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters, but two pets, a dog and rabbit, died, Supkis said.

Crews had the fire under control within about 20 minutes, he said, then spent nearly three hours on scene with salvage and overhaul.

Two engines, a water tender, an ambulance and four command and support vehicles were called out, for 15 firefighters total. Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and fire district support personnel also went to the scene.

A Sunriver Fire Department ambulance responded to evaluate the homeowner for a medical condition, and she was treated at the scene and released, Supkis said.

The fire chief said a preliminary determination was that the fire began in the area where the wood stove chimney and ceiling meet. The fire caused heavy fire and smoke damage throughout the home.

Supkis said responding firefighters had to content with a half-mile unimproved access driveway and “very lightweight construction and a fiberboard paneling interior finish.”

American Red Cross disaster action team volunteers responded early Tuesday to help the family of three adults and four children. They said they provided food, clothing, comfort kids and information about health and mental health services.

Franklin said the replacement home from the April 2012 blaze had been placed on the site only in the last two to four months, according to a neighbor.

Supkis said it’s not known the extent of insurance coverage the family had.

In 2012, the family was away from their two-story home when that fire began, but returned before the first fire crews arrived, NewsChannel 21 reported at the time.

The fast-moving fire destroyed all of their belongings, and the woman’s teen daughter broke a window to rescue three other dogs from the burning home. The community rallied to gather donations and assist the family.

Supkis told NewsChannel 21 the cause of the earlier fire was never confirmed but the area of origin was outside on the deck, possibly electrical in nature or from a pellet stove placed there. He said there were no connections between the blazes, other than that they hit the same family.

“It’s a very, very sad situation, and our heartfelt wishes go out to them,” he said, noting that several family members live on the parcel, where the children are active in 4-H and raise several well-cared-for animals.

You can read or watch the story we reported at that time in the related-stories area beside this article.

NewsChannel 21’s Samantha O’Connor is visiting the scene and will have a report on NewsChannel 21 at Five and Six.