House Fire Claims Life in Keizer

The fire was discovered after a newspaper delivery person several blocks from the fire scene smelled smoke and began to find the source of the smell.

Photo by: Tim King

(KEIZER) - A house fire in Keizer Friday morning led to the death of a resident. Keizer firefighters responded to responded to the report of a house fire shortly before 6:00 AM on Friday.

Firefighters arriving at home at 535 Hornet Dr. North observed smoke coming from the single family dwelling. Before fire crews attacked the fire they reported that flames were visible. Following standard procedure, Fire Spokesman Jim Trett says they immediately began a search of the structure. Shortly after starting the search, a body was located in the living room of the home. They say the victim had succumbed to their injuries before the arrival of fire units.

The fire was discovered after a newspaper delivery person several blocks from the fire scene smelled smoke and began to find the source of the smell. When the delivery person arrived she saw the smoke and called 9-1-1 at 5:43 AM. Fire crews responded at 5:46 AM and arrived on 5:50 am.

Trett says the fire proved to be difficult to extinguish because of a large fuel load on the main floor and attic area of the home. As firefighters would extinguish one spot fire another fire would flare up in another portion of the structure. The fire also burned through the floor in several places and allowed the fire to spread in the oversized crawl space beneath the house. The fire was officially declared under control at 9:22 AM.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries while fighting the blaze. He was treated at the scene and released. Because of the time required to extinguish the stubborn blaze the Keizer Fire District received mutual aid from Marion County Fire District #1 and the Salem Fire Department.

In addition to the victim, the fire claimed one dog and one bird. No damage estimate was available and fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire.