Cause of fire found to be lint build-up

Monday, April 04, 2011 - Breckenridge, CO

At approximately 9:03 a.m. on April 4th, the Red, White and Blue Fire District was called to a house fire on County Road 452 in the Huron Heights subdivision. Excellent information was provided by the reporting party which included: an accurate location, where the nearest fire hydrant was located, and that it appeared the home was unoccupied.

When firefighters arrived, heavy gray smoke was coming from the roof. Crews from Red, White and Blue Fire and Lake Dillon Fire worked for approximately an hour to extinguish the blaze.

An investigation later revealed that the cause of the fire was found to be ignition of excessive lint build-up in the furnace duct work and that the forced air furnace did not have a filter in place. The total estimated damages for this home, which is owned by a couple from Castle Rock, are estimated at over $250,000. Deputy Chief and Fire Marshal Jay Nelson stated “based on the extent and character of the damages, this fire could have been burning for up to 24 hours before being noticed.”

Deputy Chief Nelson recommends that forced air heating systems be inspected annually and filters should be installed and replaced in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications. It is also important to remember that lint can cause fires in clothes dryers if the ventilation is not adequate and cleaned regularly. He went on to state that while there appeared to be properly functioning smoke detectors in the home, a monitored fire alarm system could have minimized the damages.

The Red, White and Blue Fire District would also like to remind everyone to change the batteries in their smoke detectors twice a year. When you change your clocks, also change your batteries. So, if you didn’t change the batteries with the recent time change, please do so soon.

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Press Contact:
Capt. Keith McMillan
cell: 970.389.5394
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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