Improperly Disposed of Cigarette to Blame for Salem House Fire
A family of ten was displaced due to the fire.
(SALEM, Ore. ) — A improperly disposed of cigarette is to blame for a three alarm house fire in Salem last week, Salem Fire Marshal Laird Case told Salem News Journal.
The three alarm fire on Wednesday, September 10, at 1135 Madison Street NE, left a Salem family of 10 homeless.
North Salem High School Junior 17-year-old Alladin Domenden who lived in the home, said he woke up around 5:45 a.m. to his parents yelling, FIRE, FIRE!
He jumped out of his bed, and he and his four sisters and two brothers all raced down the stairs and out of the house. His parents grabbed their one year old daughter out of the crib she was sleeping in, and all ten made it out safe.
Domenden said once out, they went to the back of the home, he saw flames shooting up the back of the home, and the deck was on fire as well.
He told Salem News Journal that there was an ashtray for cigarettes on the deck, next to a box, and it looked to him like that a improperly disposed of cigarette set the box on fire and spread to the back of the home and deck.
Firefighters from Salem, Keizer, Marion and Polk Counties battled the blaze and hotspots throughout the morning hours.
Red Cross was called in to help the family with food, shelter, and other needs.
Case said what made this fire so tough to battle was the construction of the home.
With the continued hot, and dry weather over the next few days, Salem Fire Department officials are warning residents to make sure that any flammable materials are properly disposed of.
So far this summer, the Salem Fire Department has responded to an average of 2 to 3 fires a day throughout the city, that may, or were caused by cigarettes or other flammable materials being discarded while still burning into dry grass or brush, Case said.
Video from the scene Wednesday morning by Salem News Journal photographer Jerry Freeman:
