La Center girl, 9, seriously burned after clothes catch fire

LA CENTER — A 9 year-old girl was severely burned when her clothing caught fire in her La Center home Wednesday morning.

The girl, identified by a family friend as Addie Perrenoud, suffered second- and third-degree burns on 75 percent of her body, said Clark County Fire & Rescue Chief Dennis Mason.

“She’s going to have a long road for the next several months,” Mason said.

Firefighters were first called to a green, two-story duplex at 652 W. Fifth St., around 9:19 a.m. for a potential house fire, according to emergency dispatch logs. Firefighters arrived 4 minutes later and found Addie in the home with severe burns. The fire was out but the home was filled with smoke and part of the carpet was burned.

Firefighters believe Addie was using a match in the bathroom, presumably to light a candle, when her clothing caught fire, Mason said. Addie ran into a hallway when her mom, Kelly Perrenoud, got her to the floor and put the fire out, Mason said.

Addie was sent by AMR ambulance to La Center High School, where a LifeFlight helicopter was waiting to take her to the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. Her mom, who suffered burns on her hands and arms, was also sent to the Portland hospital.

Addie was listed in critical condition at the hospital around 3 p.m., hospital spokeswoman Amber Shoebridge said. Kelly Perrenoud was treated and released, she said.

The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.

“It’s pretty rare to have clothes just (catch fire like that),” Mason said.

Fire Marshal Richard Martin said at this point, it doesn’t appear that an accelerant (such as hair spray or an aerosol air freshener) was involved in the fire. Addie was wearing a homemade, flannel nightgown, he said.

La Center police vehicles and CCF&R units lined the street outside the duplex after the incident. Kelly’s husband, Jesse Perrenoud, was seen leaving the home to talk to family friends, firefighters and police in the driveway. After a few minutes, the man left to go to the hospital, family friend Eddy Thomaasson said.

“She’s a typical 9 year-old,” he said of Addie.

Property records show the newer two-story duplex is owned by Cathleen Peterson of La Center.