Pack rat’s nest sparks dryer fire at DRW home

A fire in a Deschutes River Woods home Wednesday morning had an unusual cause – a pack rat or other rodent created a nest with dog food inside a clothes dryer’s venting system, causing the appliance to ignite when it was turned on, officials said.

Bend fire crews were called to the reported house fire around 8:40 a.m. in the 60000 block of Minnetonka Lane, Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki said. They found the fire was in a dryer that vented to the east side of the house.

Derlacki said an alert neighbor at first thought steam was coming from the side of the house, but quickly realized it was smoke, called 911 and made sure no one was home.

Derlacki said the quick response allowed firefighters to limit the fire to the dryer itself. As a result, damage in the home was limited to a small amount of smoke and water, and the resident will be able to stay after some minor clean-up.

The fire’s cause was determined to be a pack rat or similar rodent had created a nest and hiding place in the dryer’s venting system, Derlacki said. He added that the vent itself had been cleaned recently and not involved, but the animal had brought dog food into the nest, and it was very close to the heating element of the dryer, so it caught fire when it was turned on.

The resident had noticed signs of pack rats recently, Derlacki said, but did not know they had gotten into the dryer.

The nest was found inside the dryer’s venting system and not visible until they took it apart, Derlacki said, adding that no pack rat was found in the dryer at the time.

Derlacki reminded residents that if there are signs of pack rats in or around your house, seek out any potential hiding places and clean them. Warm areas such as dryers and most appliances are good hiding places for rodents, he said.