Two Friday afternoon house fires have prompted Tualatin Valley fire officials to remind local residents to use caution when disposing ashes from fireplaces and wood stoves.

In the first incident, firefighters were called at 2:43 p.m. to a home at 20190 SW Midline Street, in Aloha, after several calls were received reporting a fire at the rear of a house. On arrival, firefighters discovered a fire involving a deck and wall on the back of the home. Quickly extinguished, in part by a neighbor’s garden hose, the fire burned a four by five-foot area of the deck and damaged the back wall, including electrical wiring. Damage is estimated to be over $5,000. An investigation determined that the fire began on the deck where a paper sack filled with disposed ashes had recently been placed.

As fire crews were mopping up at the first incident, TVF&R and Hillsboro units were dispatched at 4:24 p.m. to a home at 372 NW 179^th Avenue, in the Heritage Park area, after residents there reported smoke in the house. On arrival there, firefighters discovered that ashes placed in a plywood box alongside the house had ignited barkdust which, in turn, had burned through a vent into the crawl space under the house and up into the home’s siding. Damage from this fire is estimated at $2,000.

Both fires were quickly contained without injury to occupants or firefighters, but officials note that consequences could have been more serious in the middle of the night.

Given the current cold weather and increased use of fireplaces and wood stoves, area residents should be reminded that ashes can retain enough heat to ignite a fire two to three days after a fire. Persons unable to wait for that period before cleaning out ashes should place them in a closed metal container and store them well away from any other combustible materials.

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