A fire that destroyed a house Friday evening and left a Vancouver family with nothing was caused by an unattended candle, according to the fire marshal.
A teenager left a candle sitting on some furniture in her bedroom and left the room with the two family dogs inside, closing the door behind her, said Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli. Because the closed door cut off oxygen, the fire smoldered the room.
When the girl returned 20 minutes later, she found the bedroom full of black smoke from a fire in the corner, Scarpelli said. Opening the door caused oxygen to flow back into the room and fuel the fire, she said.
The family of four and another child spending the night quickly left the residence. The dogs were not injured, most likely because they were low to the ground, Scarpelli said.
“Black, acrid smoke like that can be very dangerous and deadly,” she said.
At 5:13 p.m. Friday, the Vancouver Fire Department was called to 3515 X St., where flames quickly engulfed the house. They extinguished the fire, but it had consumed about 85 percent of the structure and about 65 percent of the contents. Damage to the house and the family’s belongings is estimated at $156,000.
The family does not have renter’s insurance, Scarpelli said, which would have covered most of the cost of replacing their things. More than $500 has been raised online at gofundme.com/vanwinklefamily to get the family housing and basic necessities. The GoFundMe page created by neighbor Brandy Jennings says that Danny van Winkle and Susie Gaylord and their two daughters, ages 15 and 9, lost everything they owned.
The Red Cross provided three nights of lodging for the family.
Vancouver has seen several fires caused by unattended candles.
“If you’re going to have a open flame source — either cooking or candles — you need to be present in the room,” Scarpelli said. “These are preventable fires.”
She adds that LED candles are a safer alternative to traditional candles; they offer the same ambience without the risk and don’t leave soot residue on the walls.
