Firefighters quickly put out a house fire in the Truman neighborhood Monday afternoon that heavily damaged a house that appeared to have been abandoned, vandalized and used as a hangout.
Crews with the Vancouver Fire Department were called to the fire at 4204 N.E. 49th St. just after 1 p.m. Monday.
Firefighters saw smoke and flames coming out of multiple windows, Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Mark Johnston said.
Crews took a defensive approach, attacking from outside with water, and controlled the flames within 20 minutes. They remained on the scene to search for and extinguish any remaining hot spots, according to emergency radio traffic monitored by The Columbian.
A power line was downed due to the blaze, Johnston said, but crews from Clark Public Utilities responded and shut off the power so crews could work safely.
Nineteen firefighters responded. No one was injured.
Deputy Clark County Fire Marshal Susan Anderson said the fire appeared to have been human-caused.
The fire started in what appeared to be the former master bedroom, she said, but how it started couldn’t be determined. The home still stands, but the fire did ample damage to the bedroom and attic, along with smoke damage to the rest of the building.
Anderson said it appeared the 1970s-era house had been vacant for some time and had been in foreclosure.
She estimated that the fire did about $108,000 damage to the home and its contents.
“The house still contained a bunch of the former owner’s belongings, but it did not appear that anyone was staying there,” she said.
There was a county notice on the building, posted in June, deeming the building hazardous and unfit for use, she said.
“There was evidence that the house had been broken into and been used as a hangout for kids,” Anderson said, adding that there was graffiti and other vandalism inside.
The fire is being investigated. Although there has been illegal activity reported from the house before, no one saw anyone around before the fire, Anderson said.
She asked anyone with helpful information to call the fire marshal’s office at 360-397-2186.
