Hillsboro Woman Saves Own Home After Water Heater Ignites Gas Fumes From Pressure Washer, Hillsboro Fire Officials Say

HILLSBORO, OR — A homeowner prevented what Hillsboro Fire officials said could have been an extensive fire after two water-filled devices ignited and caught fire in a Hillsboro garage Thursday morning.

Around 6:30 a.m. May 11, Hillsboro firefighters were dispatched to a reported residential fire in the 5900-block of Northeast Ketterling Street, just south of the Orenco neighborhood in Hillsboro. The 911 caller told dispatchers that a pressure washer in her garage was on fire, but by the time fire crews from the Cherry Lane Fire Station arrived the homeowner had used a fire extinguisher to douse the pressure washer — saving the garage and home.

The homeowner reportedly told fire crews that she had gone to the garage to get a ladder to change a battery in a smoke alarm, officials said, but found the pressure washer in flames when she opened the door.

Fire investigators further learned that the pressure washer had been filled with gasoline the previous day and left in the garage next to the home's water heater. Investigators determined that at some point in the morning, as the family was preparing for the day and after gasoline vapors had collected throughout the night in the enclosed garage, the spark from the water heater clicking on lit the fumes and ignited the pressure washer.

"It is fortunate that the homeowner had a fire extinguisher in the garage," Fire Investigator Charlie Marble said in a statement. "Had she not put that fire out as quickly as she did, the damage could have been extensive."

No injuries were reported.

From the HPD:

Hillsboro fire reminds residents to limit your risk of fire by keeping gasoline outside in a detached garage or shed. Never keep gasoline anywhere near an appliance that uses natural gas or propane. This includes water heaters and furnaces. We also recommend that residents have a fire extinguisher on each level of the home and one in the garage.

Photo Courtesy: Hillsboro Fire Department