Winter heating can turn deadly

It’s cold in Sisters and we all have to heat our homes. But winter heating can turn dangerous — as it did in two house fires in recent weeks.

On Monday morning, December 5, a structure fire in Tollgate destroyed a garage and caused major damage to the house, which may also be a total loss, according to Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Marshal Dave Wheeler. Investigation showed that a wall heater in the garage started that fire, Wheeler said.

“At first, we thought there was only damage to the attic of the home, but now investigation shows that it may be too costly to repair the attic,” Wheeler said. “While contents of the house received only smoke damage, the total loss will be between $350,000 and $400,000.”

A house fire on the east side of Sisters early in the morning of November 30 started from a wood stove.

The structure and all contents were a total loss estimated at over $250,000.

Two occupants crawled to safety, but a family dog died in the fire.

Years of heater use were blamed for another fire earlier this fall.

In late October, an early morning fire caused extensive damage to an unoccupied Camp Sherman house.

The fire started on the second floor of the large A-frame structure and spread to the attic. Cause of the fire was determined to be a bathroom-ceiling heater, according to Wheeler.

“Wood surrounding the heater had been subject to ‘charring’ over the past 40 years,” Wheeler explained. “Loss from that fire was several hundred thousand dollars.”

Neither the Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District nor the Black Butte Fire District has experienced any home heating fires so far this winter, accord-ing to district spokesmen.

“We are not having more winter fires than usual, but we are seeing some major losses and threat to lives,” Wheeler said.

“Fire crews are getting faster reports of fires if the home is occupied and if it is during the daylight hours, but it always takes longer if no one is home or if the fire starts at night.”

With the Tollgate fire, the fire department received a call from a neighbor, a garbage company forwarded a report from a truck driver, a private fire alarm company called and finally a call came from the resident, he said.

With Sisters only a few weeks into the cold winter season, Wheeler is concerned about more house fires starting from home heating.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal has recommendations for preventing house fires, Wheeler said.

Clean wood stove chimneys annually, place ashes outdoors in a metal container away from any structures; burn only dry seasoned wood to prevent flue fires and use a screen on fireplaces.

Keep space heaters at least three feet from combustible materials; clean the heaters periodically; inspect the electrical cords; do not use extension cords and turn heaters off when you leave home.

In addition, the state fire marshal recommends operating heaters only when adults are present and using only heaters that are Underwriter Laboratory approved and that will shut off if tipped over.

Kerosene heaters are not approved for homes in Oregon since they are prone to sudden flare-ups and may emit poisonous fumes.

For more tips from the State Fire Marshal’s office, see story, page 25.