Fire burns SW Redmond chicken coop; home spared

A southwest Redmond chicken coop went up in flames Friday afternoon, but firefighters kept it from reaching a house a few feet away, and no chickens perished in the fire, officials said.

Redmond Fire and Rescue crews were called out around 1:20 p.m. to a property in the 2600 block of Southwest Volcano Avenue, said Battalion Chief Jeff Puller.

Crews arrived to find an 8-by-16-foot chicken coop four feet from a house “well-involved in fire,” Puller said.

Crews forced open a gate blocked by three feet of snow and quickly put out the fire before it could reach the house, he said.

There were no injuries, and losses were estimated at about $200.

The fire was believed to have been caused by a heat lamp placed too close to combustibles.

“Redmond Fire and Rescue would like to remind people to be careful with equipment that produces heat and to keep a non-combustible space all the way around the equipment,” said Redmond Fire Marshal Traci Cooper.