Crooked River Ranch, Ore. – A fire damaged a Crooked River Ranch home Tuesday afternoon. A resident smelled smoke and when they went to investigate found a bedroom on fire. The resident likely slowed the spread of the fire to the rest of the home by closing the bedroom door before evacuating the home and calling 9-1-1.
Firefighters received the call at 1:43 p.m. of a structure fire at 9527 SW Geneva View Road. They arrived to find smoke coming from the front door and a side window of the home. Crews confirmed that the only resident home at the time of the fire had safely evacuated and was uninjured. The fire was located and confined to the bedroom however there was smoke damage to the rest of the home. Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes.
At the time of the fire there were working smoke alarms in the home. The cause of the fire was determined to be a portable heater that was too close to a bed.
“It’s important to remember that space heaters can easily ignite combustibles,” explained Fire Chief Harry Ward. “Homeowners should follow the manufacturer’s directions on how far to place heaters from combustible materials.”