A man displaced by a fire Monday morning was treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, Vancouver fire officials said.
Firefighters were dispatched to a blaze at 2000 Broadway in Vancouver’s Uptown Village neighborhood at about 11:30 a.m.
The two-story house was used as a residence and office space for a 68-year-old man who works as a psychotherapist, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.
The man was eating breakfast when he smelled smoke and went upstairs to find an upstairs bedroom on fire, said Rick Steele, battalion chief with the Vancouver Fire Department. The man tried to put out the fire himself before calling 911 and evacuating, he said.
Arriving firefighters reported seeing flames from a second-story, south-facing window and used a hose to hit the flames with water before going into the building and knocking the rest of the flames down, Steele said.
Fire officials declared the fire under control within 15 minutes, Steele said. Traffic was blocked in the area for the emergency response, which included 19 fire personnel.
The man who lives there was treated at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for smoke inhalation and minor burns, Scarpelli said.
The blaze damaged 50 percent of the structure, causing an estimated $200,000 to $240,000 in damage, Scarpelli said.
Investigators said the fire was human-caused, attributing it to either the improper use of a candle or the improper use of smoking materials, Scarpelli said. Both candles and smoking materials were used in the area of the fire’s origin, she said.
“These are preventable fires and it is so important when you use candles that you keep them away from combustible materials and they’re in some sort of noncombustible votive,” Scarpelli said.
The occupant of the residence was displaced by the blaze, and he received temporary housing assistance from the American Red Cross. The organization also provided the man with immediate basic needs, health services and information about recovery services.
