Wood stove ash in plastic trash can ignite fire and cause $25,000 in damage to SW Bend home

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Ashes from a wood stove placed in a plastic trash can hours earlier sparked a fire Wednesday night that caused about $25,000 in damage to a home in southwest Bend, officials said.

The fire at a home in the 60000 block of River Bend Drive was alerted by a neighbor just before 8:30 p.m., fire investigator Jason Kamperman said.

Neighbors alerted residents to the fire and after calling 911, they began extinguishing the flames, Kamperman said.

Bend fire crews continued to extinguish the fire and checked the two-story home for possible fire spread to the interior or attic areas.

Kamperman said the fire was mostly confined to the exterior of the home and partially extended to the siding and eaves.

The fire turned out to be an accident, ignited by hot ash that was thrown into a plastic trash can near the outside of the house Wednesday morning, the fire official said. The resident had cleared the wood stove of apparently extinguished ash.

A minor injury was reported in the incident.

“Bend Fire & Rescue would like to remind everyone how to properly dispose of hot ash from wood burning appliances,” Kamperman said.

“Always assume the ash is hot – even after several days, there may be ash hot enough to ignite combustibles. It is recommended to place the ash removed from a wooden device in a non-combustible metal container with a container. Store the ash with a metal lid and remove it outside the structure, far away from combustible materials. The ashes can be moistened, but should be kept in a metal container for several days until completely cooled before disposal.