Fire tears through southeast Bend mobile home

A 42-year-old, unoccupied mobile home in southeast Bend was heavily damaged by a fire early Saturday that investigators traced to a woodstove that work crews had started to warm up the fresh paint and sheetrock.

Firefighters responded around 12:10 a.m. to the reported fire in the Country Sunset Mobile Home Park on Southeast 27 th street, said Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki. Police also were called out, arriving first and evacuating neighboring homes for safety, though Derlacki said none were directly threatened.

Fire crews were able to quickly stop the blaze, ensuring it did not spread to adjacent homes, but it caused a total loss to the structure, estimated at $10,000.

Derlacki said minor work was being done to the home, built in 1973, for new occupants to move in.

Neighbor Kristy Crosby awoke to noises and saw firefighters working next door. She said the previous residents moved out about a week ago and crews hanging drywall and doing painting and repairs had been inside the past couple of days.

The fire cause was traced to the woodstove, original to the home, though damage to the roof meant investigators could not pinpoint the ignition site.

Derlacki said it’s most likely that wood surrounding the flue ignited due to a process known as pyrolysis, a wood decomposition in which the wood dries out, lowering its ignition temperature.

The wood degraded over time, he said, and the temperature to ignite it gradually dropped to the point where setting a fire in the woodstove ignited the wood around the flue. Derlacki said the work crew had lit the woodstove to warm up the fresh paint and sheet rock.

The fire official said it’s a good reminder to have your woodstove, fireplaces (gas or wood-burning) and heating equipment inspected at least annually to look for signs of failure or problems. Ensuring the flue and stove are installed correctly can greatly reduce the chances of pyrolysis.

More information about home heating safety and other safety topics can be found at http://www.bendoregon.gov/safetyinfo .