Fire outside SE Bend home spreads to one next door, causing $300,000 damage; fire pit ash disposal deemed cause
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A fire began on an outside wall of a southeast Bend home and quickly spread to a home next door Sunday afternoon, causing substantial damage to both and destroying a natural gas meter, a fire official said. The cause was determined to be fire pit coals dumped in a plastic recycling bin.
The fire was reported just after 4 p.m. in the 64000 block of Edro Place, Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy Kettering said, initially reported as a fast-spreading garage fire that might have involved a home next door.
The fire began on the exterior wall of one home, spread to one next door and the flames traveled up and into the attic of both homes, which are about 15 apart, Kettering said. She noted that both homes also had wooden fences between them.
More crews were called in due to the spreading fire and the fire was knocked down within about a half hour, the fire official said. The fire also caused minor damage to an SUV parked in one hone’s driveway and caused a natural gas leak due to the destroyed meter.
Both homes were occupied when the fire broke out, but everyone escaped unhurt, Kettering said.
Damage was estimated at $300,000. The fire left both homes unlivable at present, she said, but the residents of both declined American Red Cross assistance.
The investigation was delayed while Cascade Natural Gas crews were called in to shut off the gas service to both homes. Kettering said the gas meter was in the area of the fire, which damaged the fitting, meaning they had to excavate over four feet deep to to get the gas shut off. That was completed shortly after 7 p.m.
An investigation determined the occupant of the home where the fire began disposed of coals from a backyard fire pit into a plastic recycling bin outside the home, along the south exterior wall between the two homes, Kettering said. The ashes ignited the bin’s contents and the fire spread to the first home’s exterior, then the second.
"Bend Fire & Rescue would like to remind the community that any ashes or coals need to be disposed of properly," Kettering wrote. "Place them into a metal container, fill with water, and allow them to soak at a minimum overnight prior to disposal.
"The metal bucket should be placed on a non-combustible surface such as dirt or concrete, never left inside the house or placed on wood decking. For more home fire safety information, visit our website at www.bendoregon.gov/government/departments/fire-rescue."
