Electrical fire causes $350K damage to downtown Bend office building; sprinkler limits spread

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – An electrical fire caused about $350,000 in damage and losses at a downtown Bend office building late Saturday night, but an official said the sprinkler system prevented more damage.

Bend Fire and Rescue was dispatched around 11:40 p.m. to the reported fire in a two-story commercial building in the 100 block of Northwest Greenwood Avenue, Deputy Fire Marshal Susie Maniscalco said.

Police and fire personnel arrived to find flames and smoke coming from the second story and roof of the unoccupied building, which is equipped with a full fire sprinkler and alarm systems, Maniscalco said.

Crews got to the second floor and said a single fire sprinkler in the attic kept the fire from spreading through the attic.

“Had the fire sprinklers not been in place, the long-term cleanup and disruption of businesses would have been greatly impacted,” Maniscalco said in a news release.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical fire relating to heat tape. No injuries were reported.

The building’s estimated value is $2.7 million, and property losses were estimated at $200,000, Maniscalco said. Contents were valued at $400,000, with losses of about $150,000.