Upper Pine firefighters were busy with two fires in short succession Sunday morning. The second fire caused major damage to a house near Bayfield Elementary School.
Upper Pine Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman told the Times that the first call came at 8:06 a.m. for a structure fire at 2400 County Road 500 north of Vallecito reservoir. "We had a lot of resources going to that when the second call came in," he said.
While firefighters were en route to that, they got a call at 8:36 a.m. for the fire at 496 S. Mesa Drive in Bayfield. Some firefighters continued to the first fire while others turned back to the second fire, Kaufman said. Los Pinos and Durango Fire also responded for the second call.
The fire on CR 500 turned out to be a chimney fire pretty much confined to the chimney, Kaufman said. Firefighters put some water into the stove to create steam. They also put some water down the chimney.
"We checked it with a thermal imaging camera. That (fire) was pretty much a non-event," Kaufman said. The crew finished there and joined responders at the second fire.
The first responders there saw flames coming out of the eaves and roof of a second story bedroom. Kaufman said homeowner Dan Keen works at night. He got home at around 6:30 a.m., started a fire in the wood stove, and went to sleep on the couch.
But Kaufman said the chimney did not go through where the fire was. The only cause that hadn't been ruled out as of Monday was an electrical failure in the bedroom attic.
The bedroom had "heat-rock" radiant heating in the ceiling, a product that's no longer sold or installed, he said. "We have the wires. I've looked at the connection into the sheetrock. That looks fine. I have a location in the attic where we have arcing. I'm still looking at whether that caused the fire or is a result of it. We are zeroing down to an electrical failure in the attic."
The house has extensive fire and water damage, Kaufman said. A cleaning and restoration service was there Monday, closing up the roof opening and broken windows and keeping the heat on so the house doesn't freeze up - but not for anyone to live in.
Kaufman has rated the house unsafe to live in. He estimated damage at "well over $100,000" to the house and contents. Dan and Alena Keen just bought the house in May, he said.
"They will get all the belongings out that they can that haven't been damaged. There was water coming out of the light fixtures, which means the entire ceiling space. You have to pull out all the sheetrock and flooring, and re-wire and re-plumb. ... The insurance company will find a place for them to live while the house is repaired. This is the second time we had to do this recently in Bayfield."
The hope, he said, is to find them a place to live that doesn't disrupt jobs or the childrens' schools.
Alena Keen told the Times on Tuesday that they are staying for now at the Homewood Suites Hotel in Durango. That's where her husband works. They have two daughters, ages 9 and 11, from Dan's previous marriage. They were staying at their mother's house when the fire happened. "The upstairs is our older daughter's bedroom, so it was wonderful she was with her mother," Alene said.
The Keens also have a six month old daughter. She and Alene were sleeping in a back room when the fire happened.
"Our neighbor across the way was driving past and saw smoke, busted in the front door and let my husband know our house was on fire," she said.
Because the fire and smoke were in the attic, there was no smoke downstairs to set off a smoke alarm, she said. Without the neighbor's warning, the fire would have been much more advanced before they knew about it, Alene said. She lamented she didn't remember the neighbor woman's name and called her a hero.
Alene said they moved to Bayfield in May after renting in Durango. "This is our first house that we purchased," she said. Dan works nights at Homewood Suites and stays with the baby during the day while Alene works. She thanked everyone who has provided help to them.
