Neighbor awakens, helps Bend family escape burning mobile home

Fire electrical, accidental in nature; home had no smoke alarms

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A next-door neighbor awakened and helped a family of three escape their burning mobile home on Bend’s north end early Thursday morning, officials said, noting that it was not equipped with working smoke alarms.

Bend Fire & Rescue responded just after 3:30 a.m. to the reported fire at the Juniper Mobile Home Park in the 63900 block of North Highway 97, Deputy Fire Marshal Susie Maniscalco said.

Crews arrived to find a fire burning in the crawl space beneath a single-wide mobile home and quickly deployed a hose to tackle it, she said.

The family of three, including a small child, escaped unharmed, even though the fire broke out directly below their bedroom and had not penetrated the floor. They evacuated the home and called 911.

“If the fire had not been discovered by neighbors, it would have spread undetected, decreasing the chance of escape,” Maniscalco said.

The family had just bought the home and did not have homeowner’s insurance, she added. They declined American Red Cross disaster assistance.

The fire began in the crawlspace, where the home’s electrical system was spliced into the main feeder line coming from the meter. Maniscalco said it most likely was caused by electrical resistance causing the wires to arc, igniting nearby insulation. It was classified as accidental, she said.

The fire caused an estimated $10,000 in damages to the home, the fire official said. The rest of the home was intact but will need restoration due to smoke damage.

Maniscalco said Bend Fire wants to remind the community that working smoke alarms save lives.

“We will provide and install smoke alarms at no cost,” she said. Bend Fire & Rescue can be reached at 541-322-6300.