Forgotten candle causes NE Bend basement fire, but homeowner and her 2 dogs escape, thanks to sounding smoke alarms
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A candle left burning caused a fire that heavily damaged the basement of a northeast Bend home early Wednesday morning - but working smoke alarms awakened the homeowner, who escaped with her two dogs, and fire crews were able to save the rest of the house.
Bend Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched around 1 a.m. to the reported fire in the 1100 block of NE Penn Avenue, Fire Investigator Melissa Steele said.
"She awoke, heard the alarms and noticed smoke in the home, called 911 and grabbed her dogs," Steele wrote in a news release.
"Crews were on scene in a matter of minutes and found the lower portion of the home, a walk-in basement, fully involved with flames coming out of the sliding glass door," Steele said. "The fire was knocked down in 15 minutes and crews were able to contain the fire to the basement only, with no extension into the main living quarters of the home."
"Unfortunately, the basement and all contents are a complete loss due to fire, smoke and water damage," the fire inspector added,
Upon investigation, the woman stated she went to bed around 11:30 p.m. and mistakenly left an unattended candle burning in the basement area, Steele said. The candle was not sitting on a non-combustible plate or surface and was directly in contact with the wooden table.
"This incident could have been much worse, had the homeowners not had working smoke alarms," she said. "With the main living and sleeping quarters above the basement, she was sleeping directly above the fully involved basement. She is extremely lucky that she had smoke alarms in both the basement and the main area of the home. This was a home smoke alarm save."
The estimated building loss is $75,000 and the contents loss is estimated at $20,000.
"We encourage everyone to stop and check that their smoke alarms are working and installed correctly," Steele said. " Bend Fire & Rescue has a free smoke alarm program and will come to your home to assess your alarms. Please call 541-322-6300 or go on our website for more information.
