The old adage "Where there is smoke, there is fire" proved true in a house fire in the Bellevue Triangle early Wednesday morning.
Members of Wood River Fire & Rescue and the Hailey and Bellevue fire departments were dispatched at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday to Pam Street's 2,200-square-foot log home on Friedman Lane south of Bellevue. In all, 21 people responded to the emergency call, including two engines, two water tenders, an ambulance and command vehicle.
Wood River Incident Commander Bart Lassman said all signs point to the radiant heating in the floor as the culprit in triggering the blaze.
"After speaking with an electrician, it appears that these Mylar panels that were built into the floor are not made to be in the floor, but the ceiling," Lassman said. "There was a mattress on the floor, no box spring. The occupant renting the room said he had been smelling smoke for quite some time, even back to this summer, but thought it was from the Castle Rock Fire."
Lassman said the radiant floor heat was the only source of heat in the room, a converted garage.
"They would turn it on and shut it off. Pyrolysis occurred, which is what happens when you have heat directed through a heat source onto combustible materials. It starts to char on and off," he said. "First the floor charred, then the carpet and finally the mattress."
According to Lassman, Street and her son, Tyson, were upstairs sleeping when they awoke to the smell of smoke. They came downstairs and called 911 after determining the smoke was coming from the spare room.
"When we lifted the mattress it burst into flames," Lassman said. "The fire was extinguished in 10 to 15 minutes and confined to that one room. Very little water was used, mostly foam to suppress the fire."
Lassman estimated the cost of damage to the home and personal belongings at $50,000. No one was injured during the incident.
