Quick action by Bend firefighters kept a garden shed fire from spreading to nearby homes in Southwest Bend Thursday. According to Bend Fire & Rescue:
A fire was reported in the SW area of Bend, near residential homes off of Chuckanut Drive, in the late morning of December 4th. An adjacent occupant of a nearby home alerted the occupant of the property of a shed fire that started near a residential house.
A neighbor called 911 and the fully involved shed fire was quickly contained and extinguished by responding Bend Fire & Rescue crews. The fire completely destroyed a garden shed, damaging a property line fence and partially burned several large pine trees. The cause of the fire has been determined to be accidental in nature, caused by hot ashes placed on dry compost materials in close proximity to a wooden shed. Hot ashes that were removed from a wood burning appliance in the early morning, had significant heat from the fire in the wood burning appliance the night before and ignited combustibles and quickly spread to the nearby wooden shed.
Nearby residential homes were not damaged due to the quick response from fire crews after 911 was called and dispatched the appropriate resources. Damages are estimated to be roughly $20,000.
It is important to dispose of hot ashes from wood burning appliances correctly. Best practice is to first let ashes cool in the burning appliance for 2-3 days before taking them out. Then when they have cooled significantly place them in a non-combustible container, such as a sturdy metal container with metal lid and leaving in the container, 10 feet away from any combustibles, until completely cool and extinguished.
This can take multiple days or even weeks. Ashes taken out of a wood burning appliance can remain hot enough to ignite combustibles for 4 – 7 days, in some cases even longer, after they have been removed from the source. Even though they may not be smoking or feel hot to the touch, hot embers may be deep inside of ash and remain hot enough to support combustion. Never place hot ashes in a plastic or combustible container or near combustible materials prior to ensuring complete extinguishment.
