Floor Furnace the Source of House Fire This Morning in Eureka
Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:
On 12/30/2020 at 0952hrs, Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported Structure Fire in the 300 block of Clark St in Eureka. Humboldt Bay Fire responded with 3 Engines, 1 Truck and 1 Chief Officer and the first units arrived within 3 minutes of the call and reported light smoke visible from a single-story Victorian residence.
Fire crews entered the building to find smoke coming from a floor furnace. The gas was secured to the floor furnace and fire crews quickly extinguished a small fire within the floor furnace. Upon further investigation it was determined the fire had extended from the floor furnace into the structural members of the sub-floor directly adjacent to the floor furnace.
Fire crews used chainsaws to cut out a 6ftx8ft hole in the sub-floor around the floor furnace and extinguished the remaining fire in the structural members of the sub-floor. Fire crews also made access into the basement of the residence and determined the fire had not extended into the basement area of the building.
Damage is estimated at $10,000 and was limited to the floor furnace and sub-floor area adjacent to the furnace.
There were no Firefighter or civilian injuries and the cause of [the fire] was accidental due to combustible materials being too close to floor furnace.
Humboldt Bay Fire crews remained on scene for approx. 1 ½ hrs and would like to remind everyone to keep combustible materials a minimum of 3 feet away from any operating floor or wall furnace.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Another great job well done Humboldt Bay Fire. You firefighters rock!
Every year a few more floor furnaces start fires. One of the first old houses I lived in had one taking much of the middle of the hallway. Every year the dang thing needed to be cleaned out before the weather got cold enough for the thermostat to turn it on, which since there was no off switch could come as a surprise on the first cold night. The rest of the winter was spent hopping over the grate which got pretty hot. I hated the thing. Even after vacuuming it out, it stunk until it burned off the dust that got into the nooks and crannies after the last time it turned on.