Sauna fire damages southwest Bend home

A towel placed too close to a sauna heater sparked a southwest Bend house fire that caused about $5,000 damage Tuesday morning, officials said.

Firefighters responded around 7:40 a.m. to the reported house fire in the 1800 block of Southwest Troon Avenue, said Bend Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Howe.

They arrived to find a three-story house with the sauna on fire and smoke coming from the home, Howe said. The 18 total personnel were able to put out the fire before it extended to the rest of the homed.

The owners smelled smoke and when the smoke alarm sounded, they knew something was wrong and quickly discovered the location of the fire.

Howe said damage was largely confined to the sauna, with minor smoke and water damage elsewhere. The sauna, a kit, was dismantled while crews were on scene.

The house was built in 1995 and only had its two original smoke alarms, Howe said, noting that smoke detectors have an effective life of 10 years.

The Bend Fire Department recommends you replace smoke alarms every 10 years and follow the existing code for the number and placement of them, Howe said, as “working smoke alarms save lives.”