Saturday, February 23, 2008
By JOHN BRANTON, Columbian Staff Writer

Family escapes harm; quick response proves crucial to saving home

CAMAS — Five members of Chevrolet dealer Curt Warner’s family escaped unharmed Friday when a two-alarm fire broke out in the upstairs of their home in Lacamas Shores.

Shortly before 5 p.m., the Camas Fire Department, East County Fire & Rescue and the Vancouver Fire Department rushed to the home at 2843 N.W. Lacamas Drive.

First to arrive were Camas Fire Capt. Kevin Bergstrom and firefighter-paramedic Mark Widlund in Engine 42, who saw flames shooting out of an upstairs front window of the large home.

“There was a lot of fire blowing out the front window when we arrived,” said Camas Battalion Chief Larry Larimer. “The flames were at least 20 feet long.”

Since safety regulations don’t permit two firefighters to pull their hoses inside a burning building without backup, Bergstrom decided to attach a hose to a portable Blitzfire monitor. It’s a kind of high-pressure nozzle that, fastened to the pavement, can shoot a stream of water 100 feet.

Set up in less than 30 seconds, the Blitzfire sent the truck’s entire 400 gallons of water through the blazing window in about one minute, said Capt. Rick Steele with the Vancouver Fire Department.

That first drenching did much to stop the flames as another 21 firefighters arrived, went inside the home with hoses and attached one hose to a nearby hydrant, Steele said.

“You could pretty much say it saved this house, ” Steele said.

As it was, damage was initially estimated at $300,000 to $500,000, said Camas Fire Marshal Randy Miller.

The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately available.

Officials said Warner, a former Seattle Seahawks player, and his wife, Ana, were distraught and declined to comment about the fire.

“Mrs. Warner and her oldest son did a heck of a job of getting the whole family safely out of that house,” Larimer said.

Had the home been equipped with a sprinkler system, damage would have been much less, Miller said.

“There’s a good chance they could have stayed in the house tonight,” Miller said.

In Camas, more than 1,000 homes have sprinkler systems, but they are not mandatory.

Miller said residential sprinkler systems cost about $1.35 per square foot, and a little less in cases when Camas officials waive a fire fee in view of the extra safety of sprinklers.

To read the full article click here.