Bend resident’s bid to scare off rock chucks with a smoke bomb under the house sparked a fire instead

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend homeowner's attempt to use a smoke bomb to drive rock chucks out from under his house didn't go too well Wednesday evening.

But thanks to a quick call to 911, Bend Fire & Rescue crews kept it from getting a lot worse.

Firefighters responded shortly after 5 p.m. to the reported fire in the crawl space under a manufactured home at Rock Arbor Villa Mobile Home Park on Northeast Highway 20, Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Darlacki said.

The crews arrived to find black smoke coming from under the house.

Fortunately, Derlacki said, the fire had not spread inside and was put out quickly, with everyone already out of the home.

An investigation found that the homeowner and a neighbor were attempting to drive away rock chucks from under the house, Derlacki said.

A commercially available rodent smoke bomb was used as a means to drive them away -- but it caught the plastic vapor barrier on fire under the home.

Still, the fire official said they did something right: "By calling 911 immediately, they helped limit the damage to under the house and very little smoke damage inside."

However, the damage was estimated at $10,000.

"Bend Fire & Rescue reminds everyone to keep fire-producing devices away from and under your house," Derlacki wrote in a news release.

"Weed burners are the most common cause of these types of fires, where a flame is used to remove a nuisance weed, but the house is accidentally ignited. But these smoke bombs pose the same danger," the fire official advised.

"This type of smoke bomb is designed to be used in fields and large open areas as a means to remove rodents. Ten feet of separation to all structures (decks, fences, houses, sheds, etc.) shall be maintained for any open-flame use, including rodent smoke bombs, to prevent these types of fire from happening," he said.

And Derlacki offered one more piece of advice: "Never use any of these products during fire season".