Burst water pipe helps control Yacolt house fire

A burst water pipe helped control a Yacolt house fire Saturday night until firefighters arrived to extinguish the blaze.

“It acted like a sprinkler,” said Ben Peeler, fire chief for Clark County Fire District 13. “It showed sprinkler systems do save houses.”

Peeler said Fire District 13 received a report of a fire at about 10 p.m. at 23805 N.E. Jehnsen Road, where they arrived to find the water pipe spraying the flames. Firefighters took care of it from there, quickly dousing the flames.

The Clark County Fire Marshal’s office is investigating, but Peeler said it appeared that some rewiring had been done in the house to provide power to several fans on the premises to provide ventilation for a recently reported sewer backup.

The fire appeared to start in an addition to the home where the wiring was located, Peeler said. The flames eventually melted a plastic pipe used for plumbing and the water that burst from the pipe helped keep the fire in check.

Peeler said residents in the home were assisted by Red Cross and provided shelter for the night. No injuries were reported.