Damaged electrical wiring is to blame for a March house fire north of Five Corners that briefly trapped a young boy inside, according to the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office.
Fire crews were dispatched at 4:38 a.m. March 6 to 9012 N.E. 91st St. The fire was controlled in roughly 40 minutes, but the one-story house and two vehicles were destroyed, Vancouver Fire Department Capt. Dave James previously told The Columbian.
The first responding engine saw a smoke column from three to four blocks away as the fire spread from the front to the back of the structure, James said. Firefighters battled the flames from outside until it was safe enough to go inside.
Jenny Neang, 14, awoke to the sound of a smoke alarm before evacuating, she said at the time. When Jenny was outside, she called 911 and reported that her younger brother was still inside.
While firefighters typically advise people not to re-enter burning structures, the boy was in a spot that was difficult to reach, James said. A dispatcher instructed Jenny to throw a rock through a window to get him out, but someone whom she believed to be a neighbor ran inside and pulled the boy out, Jenny said.
Jenny lived in the house with five family members. The others escaped the home, and one woman was taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland with smoke inhalation and some burns, James said.
The fire marshal’s office wanted to speak with the woman before wrapping up its investigation, Deputy Fire Marshal Rick Searls said Tuesday. She was recently released from the hospital and is doing well, Searls said.
Before the fire, electrical wiring had been placed underneath a carpet in a closet toward the front of the home. For undetermined reasons, the wiring became damaged to the point that it caused the fire, Searls said.
