Creston Fire Chief Jared Riel says the number of fires that the Creston Valley has witnessed in the past eight weeks is unusual but not suspicious.
He says it’s important to have your smoke alarm inspected and to keep a fire extinguisher to stop small accidents from growing into full blown fires.
Modern homes are filled with flammable materials.
“Just about everything we have in our homes is a petroleum based product,” Riel explains. “Those items will ignite quicker, easier and then they will burn faster, hotter. The fire grows exponentially compared to what would have happened, you know let’s say 50 years ago.”
Riel encourages homeowners and residents to keep a fire extinguisher in their Kitchen, a hot spot for accidents.
“If you can, if it’s safe to do so, to use a fire extinguisher on a fire can help a lot in saving property and contents. If the fire is anything bigger than a garbage can, like a trash fire, then you should probably just back away and leave it.”
Fire extinguishers can mean all the difference in protecting your home and can cost as little as $30. Riel says good housekeeping can also help fire rescue services access points to suppress fires as well.
This week saw another blaze on Monday.
Canyon Lister, Wynndel Lakeview and Creston Fire rescue services along with firefighters from West Creston used three water tenders, three engines, three support vehicles, and three command vehicles to put out the fire on the 2900 block off Canyon Lister Road.