SALEM, Ore. — On Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 8:22 am, a first alarm assignment (3 Engines, Ladder Truck, Medic Unit and Battalion Chief) responded to a Smoke in a Structure at 685 Court Street NE, YMCA.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they had smoke coming from the second floor of this three story brick building. This portion of the YMCA is used for apartments. A second alarm was called at 8:25 am bringing more fire fighters and equipment to the scene.
When fire fighter entered the structure they first discovered fire in the stairwell. They were able to quickly extinguish this fire. The main portion of the fire was a chair that was inside the stairwell. They also discovered a small fire in apartment #28 which fire fighters were able to extinguish before it spread.
Fire fighters had the fire under control within 15-minutes of their arrival. All portions of the YMCA were evacuated during the incident including the main YMCA, apartments and child care.
The occupant Juan Leos stated when he came home his smoke detector was going off. He discovered fire in the chair. He used a portable fire extinguisher to try to extinguish the fire. He thought he had it extinguished and he took the chair out into the stairwell where it reignited.
Two male occupants were treated by paramedics on the scene. One for smoke inhalation and the other for minor burns and smoke inhalation.
The loss is estimated at $20,000 ($19,000 Structure & $1,000 Contents). Salem Fire Investigators determined that the fire was started by a lit cigarette that had dropped into the chair and ignited while the occupant was gone.