Unattended stove caused Christmas Eve house fire in Vancouver

The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office determined a Christmas Eve fire in the Oakbrook neighborhood that killed a cat and dog was caused by an unattended stove.

A resident at the home in the 3500 block of N.E. 103rd Ave., south of the interchange for Interstate 205 and state Highway 500, prepared food and left for a friend’s residence, according to Lead Deputy Fire Marshal Chad Lawry.

“They left the stove on. A pot of oil caught fire and spread,” Lawry said.

Crews with the Vancouver Fire Department were dispatched to the home about 1:15 p.m. Arriving firefighters found smoke and flames billowing from around the front door, department spokesman Joe Spatz said. Battalion Chief Tige Harmon said firefighters had the fire out in less than 10 minutes, and the fire was contained to the kitchen.

Flames spread from the stove to cabinets and then outward from there, Lawry said. The kitchen is destroyed, he said, and intense heat damaged parts of the home, but it should be repairable.

No one was home at the time of the fire.

Spatz said firefighters found a dog inside unconscious and were able to resuscitate it, but a cat and another dog were killed. The fire displaced two people living at the house and two pets.

The deputy fire marshal estimated the total monetary loss to be around $61,000.