Faulty Furnace Caused Apartment Fire in Keizer

An apartment fire displaced at least one Keizer resident Saturday afternoon.

Jim Trett is the Spokesman for the Keizer Fire Department Photo by: Bonnie King

(KEIZER, Ore.) - Keizer Fire District crews responded to the report of an apartment fire at 1:28 PM Saturday, at 786 Unit C Lockhaven Drive NE in Keizer.

Upon arriving on the scene, crews say they observed smoke coming from the second floor of one of the apartment units.

"Callers to 9-1-1 reported seeing smoke coming from under one of the buildings that make up Lockhaven Hills Estates," Keizer Fire Spokesman Jim Trett said.

"While arriving firefighters did not report smoke coming from under the structure, they did see the smoke coming from the second floor of the building."

Trett says that as the firefighters attacked the fire in apartment C, they began to observe smoke coming from ducts outside of the other three apartments in the building.

"Crews immediately began to check for any possible fire extension into those units."

Firefighters did find a small amount of fire in apartment B which had spread through the common wall between apartment B and C.

Fire damage was most extensive in apartment C with fire damaging the living room, bathroom and utility room. Trett says the rest of the unit received heavy smoke damage. Apartment B suffered fire damage in the utility room and smoke damage in the rest of the unit. Apartments A and D received smoke damage.

The person who lives in apartment C was not able to return to her apartment, and the occupants of the other units will not know if they will be allowed to return until it is determined if power and water can be returned to the units.

No one was injured in the blaze and damage was estimated at $25,000.

A total of four engines, one ladder truck, one rescue, one ambulance and a duty officer vehicle responded to the incident. The fire was declared under control at 2:25 PM.

Investigators determined the fire was started by a faulty furnace in apartment C.