The exact cause of a garage fire Saturday night in east Vancouver remains unknown, but investigators suspect a battery charger may have been the culprit.
The small box charger “is the only thing I found that I could account for that could produce that kind of heat,” said Dean Bray, lead deputy fire marshal for the Vancouver Fire Department.
Without further scientific study, though, Bray said it’d be hard to say without a doubt the charger caused the fire that displaced three tenants living in the home near the 4000 block of Northeast 141st Avenue in the Burnt Bridge Creek neighborhood.
Vancouver firefighters received a call at 9:23 p.m. Saturday after the residents “smelled smoke and discovered fire in the garage,” Bray said. The two residents — the third wasn’t home at the time — left the home immediately.
Capt. Raymond Egan of the Vancouver Fire Department said firefighters arrived and found the garage fully engulfed in flames, but the fire was brought under control quickly and did not spread to the living area of the home.
Though the fire was contained to the garage, Bray said enough heat and smoke charged into the home to cause extensive damage and force the residents to live elsewhere. Total damage to the garage and home is estimated at $187,260.
No one was injured, but Egan said there was a dog and cat reported missing initially. It is unknown if the animals were found.
Firefighters returned to the home Sunday afternoon after someone noticed debris around a refrigerator was still smoldering.
Department spokesman Kevin Stromberg said there were no flames, and firefighters but some water on the debris and pulled the fridge outside.
Bray said the three residents have been provided temporary shelter and relief through the local American Red Cross.
