Pets Rescued as Fire Damages Keizer Home

Fire investigators are still trying to learn who the current residents of the home were.

Salem-News.com

(KEIZER) - Firefighters rescued several animals Monday morning when a house fire broke out at 427 Dearborn Ave. N in Keizer. Before it was over, crews responding to the call had to fight the fire and rescue several dogs and hamsters from the burning residence.

Keizer Fire Spokesman Jim Trett says the fire was reported to 9-1-1 by a passerby who saw smoke coming from the windows of the single-family residence, `Keizer Fire received the call at 9:51 AM and the first unit arrived on the scene at 9:53 AM. Arriving units found a fire burning in the bathroom of the residence."

As the initial attack crews were entering the structure, Trett says they observed several dogs in the home and called for other firefighters to assist evacuating the animals from the residence. As the second crews were removing five dogs they found three hamsters and also removed them from the home. None of the animals appeared to have suffered any injuries in the incident.

Michelle and Kit Schoning of Corvallis own the residence, but fire investigators are still trying to determine exactly who was currently living there.

Trett says the fire was declared under control at 10:02 AM. `Fire damage was confined to the bathroom of the residence with heavy smoke damage to kitchen. The rest of the structure suffered moderate to light smoke damage in the incident. `

Two engines, one ladder truck, one ambulance, one duty officer vehicle and fifteen firefighters responded to the incident. Fire Marshal Joel Stein gave a preliminary damage estimate of $1,000 dollars damage to the building. No one was injured in the incident. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Keizer Fire District.