Seattle Fire Investigators have finished their investigation into what caused an early morning house fire in Magnolia that claimed the life of a 91-year old woman. The fire was started by combustible material placed too close to an operating baseboard heater. Damage to the home and its contents is estimated at $250,000.

Firefighters were dispatched to a report of flames coming from the house at 1926 Clise Place West at 5:12 a.m.  The fire was already well involved when firefighters arrived at the one story home. Neighbors had alerted dispatchers that an elderly woman lived in the home. When firefighters searched the residence, they found the woman’s body in a bedroom.

Approximately 40 firefighters responded to the scene. One firefighter was transported to Harborview Medical Center with minor burns.

Fires caused by furniture, bedding, and other materials placed near baseboard heaters and portable heaters are the most common types of heating-related residential fires in Seattle.

 Here are a few tips to keep your home safe during cold winter weather:

• Give your heaters space – Do not put anything next to a heater.
• Turn portable heaters off before leaving the room or before going to bed.
• Never use an extension cord with a portable heater.
• If light is needed during a power outage, use a battery-operated light source instead of candles.
• Always keep burning candles within sight. Extinguish all candles when leaving a room or before going to sleep.
• Wood stoves and fireplaces not only need space around them for safety, they should also have their chimney cleaned regularly to reduce the chance of a chimney fire.
• And just in case, make sure you have working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and a fire escape plan that has been practiced by everyone in the home.

 For more information on seasonal fire safety, visit http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/homesafety/november.