March 4—A Seattle Fire Investigator determined an early morning West Seattle house fire was caused by a space heater placed too close to furniture.
At 12:52 a.m. a 911 call came into fire dispatcher at the Fire Alarm Center reporting smoke from a house located in the 8400 block of 20th Avenue SW. When Engine Company 11 arrived on scene they found a room on fire in the backside of a 1-story home. Neighbors informed firefighters that the occupants were not home at the time of the fire. Firefighters knocked down the fire by shooting water through an exterior window. The flames had extended into two back bedrooms and a back bathroom of the house. The fire also extended into the roof.
It took firefighters nearly 20 minutes to control the fire and nearly 50 minutes to completely extinguish the flames.
The damage estimate is $25,000 to the contents and $100,000 to the structure.
There were no reported injuries.
For more information on home heating safety click on this link.
http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubed/brochures/homeheatingsafety.pdf
