A fire that broke out Sunday morning at the BeVille Manor Apartments in Philomath was contained to the upstairs residence where it ignited and although three families were displaced, there were reportedly no injuries, Philomath Fire and Rescue reported.
Deputy Fire Chief Rich Saalsaa said local firefighters were dispatched at 8:59 a.m. to the fire on Applegate Street between South 17th and South 18th streets. The first to arrive, Lt. Dan Eddy, saw a fire showing from a second-story window in the middle of the three-unit apartment building.
“Response was delayed due to icy conditions on the road but first-arriving crews made a quick knock-down of the fire,” Saalsaa said.
The cause of the fire was determined to be a mattress that had been left against a baseboard heater in an upstairs apartment’s bedroom, Saalsaa said.
“The mattress was made of polyurethane foam and likely reached the ignition point after prolonged heat exposure,” Saalsaa said.
Philomath Fire and Rescue responded with an engine crew of five, a duty officer and an incident commander. A rescue unit with two personnel and two other volunteers also responded. Corvallis Fire assisted with two engines and Monroe Rural Fire sent two personnel. Philomath Police were on scene assisting with closing Applegate Street to traffic.
“The fire was contained to one of the bedrooms upstairs with some smoke and heat damage to the other bedroom and bathroom upstairs,” Saalsaa said. “The first floor had mostly water damage, and minor damage to the adjacent apartment ceilings when the crews checked for any extension.”
Saalsaa said the occupants of the apartment were not home at the time of the fire but arrived later in the morning. A family of five with three adults and two children was sheltering at the Philomath fire station Sunday until the American Red Cross could arrive to provide assistance. The other two families displaced each consisted of two adults.
The BeVille Manor Apartments were constructed in 1965. In November 2016, a fire at the complex broke out on the second floor, the cause on that occasion determined to be electrical in nature.
“All residents are reminded to keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment such as a portable space heater, baseboard heater, fireplace, wood-burning stove or furnace,” Saalsaa said. “The three-foot safety zone includes furniture, drapes, electronics — anything that can burn.”
