North Camman House Fire, March 26

CBFD release – On March 23, 2019 at 10:06 pm Coos Bay Fire Department received reports of a possible fire in the 200 block of North Camman Street in the Empire District. Initial reports to the 911 Center were that the caller could hear someone yelling to call the Fire Department. The first arriving crews were on scene in 4 minutes to 227 Camman Street, and they found heavy smoke and some flames coming from the eves of a residence. Fire crews were able to quickly knock down the fire through a vent in the gable of the structure. Once additional personnel arrived crews were able to fully extinguish the fire and check for extension in the home. After the fire was extinguished, a fire investigation was conducted with the assistance of Coos Bay Police Department. It was determined that the fire started due to unauthorized subjects being in the abandoned home. The subjects started a small fire in the fire place which did not have an operational chimney. All of the smoke and a small amount of fire from the fire place traveled unimpeded to the attic space and caught some of the surrounding structure on fire. Damage to the residence from the fire and fire suppression efforts was limited to a small area around the fire place. The estimated loss to the structure is $2,000.