Fire crews were dispatched to an apartment fire at 9:52AM (7017 NE 27Th ave). Station 14 (Alberta Park) arrived to the Dekum Court Apartments and found that a second floor unit was quickly filling up with black smoke. Firefighters made entry and extinguished the fire which started in a closet located in a hallway. Station 8 (Kenton), Station 28 (Rose City) and Station 2 (Parkrose) also responded and assisted with evacuation, obtaining a water supply, and laddering the roof for ventilation.

No one was home at the time of the incident and there were no injuries. Smoke alarms alerted a neighbor and she quickly called 911. "We could hear the alarms way before we could smell anything burning." said the neighbor.  Investigators were called to the scene to determine the fires cause and to estimate damage.

This fire was caused by a candle that was left unattended. Damages were estimated at $125,000 to the building and $25,000 to the contents of the unit.

*On average, 42 home candle fires are reported every day *One-half of home candle fire deaths occur between Midnight and 6 am *Young children and older adults have the highest death risk from candle fires *Falling asleep is a factor in 12% of home candle fires and 36% of the associated deaths