Firefighters extinguish blaze in east Vancouver home

Vancouver firefighters work on a house fire at 15606, N.E. 42nd Street, Monday, May 11, 2009. All occupants made it out unharmed. (The Columbian/Steven Lane)

Vancouver firefighter Darrin Deming from Truck 85, removes debris from a house destroyed by fire at 15606, N.E. 42nd Street, Monday, May 11, 2009. All occupants made it out unharmed. (The Columbian/Steven Lane)

A high-intensity lamp was blamed for a fire that caused about $200,000 in damages at a Vancouver home this morning in the Burnt Bridge Creek neighborhood.

Four residents were in the home at 15606 N.E. 42nd St., just south of Firgarden Park, when the fire broke out.

Vancouver Fire Department Capt. Bill Garlington said a resident called 911 and reported the fire at about 9:45 a.m. All four people got out and met the first contingent of firefighters when they arrived at 9:51 a.m.

One of the occupants had burned hands but declined medical treatment, Garlington said.

Nineteen firefighters had the blaze under control at 10:05 a.m., Garlington said.

"The occupant who called it in said a flash came from a light fixture," Garlington said.

Vancouver fire marshals traced the point of ignition to a light bulb in a high-intensity lamp on the ground floor of the split-level home.

"The lamp was too close to ordinary combustibles," Garlington said.

The fire then spread to the upper level of the house.

"The house had a working smoke detector, which is what alerted the occupants," he said.

Damage to the structure was estimated at $130,000, with about $70,000 in damages to the contents.

The house is uninhabitable, Garlington said; the residents are being assisted by the Southwest Washington chapter of the American Red Cross.

The home, built in 1975, is owned by Christopher and Karen Cleveland, according to county property records.