Medical oxygen fueled a fire early Wednesday morning in a Vancouver mobile home, displacing a woman and her pets.
Crews with the Vancouver Fire Department were called to the Vista Del Rio Mobile Home Park, 17401 S.E. 39th St., just before 2 a.m. for a blaze reported at one of the units.
Fourteen firefighters arrived and doused the blaze, bringing it under control in about five minutes, firefighter and agency spokesman Kevin Stromberg said.
Investigators learned an elderly female had been using portable medical oxygen in bed and took out the nasal cannula to smoke a cigarette, leaving the oxygen tank on, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.
She discarded the cigarette in a wastebasket near the head of her bed, catching the basket on fire, Scarpelli said.
The woman tried to put the fire out with water, but the flames spread to the oxygen tube and she left the burning mobile home. The blaze eventually spread from the bedroom of the home to the hallway and a chair in the living room, Scarpelli said.
The woman and her pets were displaced by the fire, which caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, Scarpelli said. The resident was assisted by the American Red Cross.
Scarpelli said that the incident is a concerning one.
“It is critical that those who use home oxygen understand the associated risks,” Scarpelli said. “Normally the air we breathe every day contains around 20 percent oxygen. The air delivered to patients using this therapy contains nearly 100 percent, making it extremely flammable.”
She cautioned that people who use home oxygen need to be vigilant, keeping candles and heat sources away from oxygen units. Scarpelli said that smokers who use oxygen present even more risk — adding that the danger persists even when oxygen isn’t flowing.
“Oxygen can build up not only in the home, but on the hair, clothes and body of the patient and ignite when a heat source — like a cigarette — comes close to the face, causing severe burns,” she said.
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