News release from the Coos Bay Fire Dept. On December 20th at 1:36 p.m., the Coos Bay Fire Department responded to a report of a bathroom fire at 63438 Idaho Drive, which is located in the Englewood area of Coos Bay. The homeowner returned home, noticed the fire, and called 911. Another occupant of the house was home at the time of the fire, but was outside of the residence. The home is owned and occupied by Darlene Hildebrand and Flora VanLandingham. The first arriving firefighters found light smoke coming from the structure near the front of the home. The home’s bathroom suffered heavy fire, smoke, and heat damage. The rest of the home did not suffer any damage due to the quick thinking of the home owner. Mrs. VanLandingham quickly called 911, and she closed both the bathroom door and the front door of the home on her way out of the residence. The fire was knocked down in about 10 minutes and within 20 minutes of arrival the fire was fully extinguished and all of the smoke was removed from the home. An investigation into the cause of the fire was conducted by the Coos Bay Fire Department, and it has been determined that the area of origin of the fire was in the bathroom of the home near a portable heater. The cause of the fire appears to be heat transfer from the heater to a plastic garbage can placed next to the heater. The Coos Bay Fire Department estimates the fire damage to the structure to be $3,000.00 and $250.00 to the occupant’s contents. The owners of the structure have insurance on the home. No injuries were reported. If you need additional information about this incident, please contact Battalion Chief Dan Crutchfield or Fire Chief Mark Anderson at 541-269-1191.
