Light Bulb Suspected Cause Of House Fire

A light bulb meant to keep cats warm sparked a fire Monday that damaged a house and burned a Spokane woman.

The blaze broke out about 12:30 a.m. in the basement of a one-story house at 2327 E. Empire, the Spokane Fire Department said.

The fire spread up the rear of the house, eventually reaching the attic, said Joe Stapleton, battalion chief.

Homeowner Joanne Gertje-Helms received first-and second-degree burns on her hands and arms as she tried to fight the blaze with a neighbor’s garden hose, Stapleton said.

Firefighters believe a light bulb used to heat a window well where two cats slept ignited a piece of foam and several bags of peat moss nearby, Stapleton said.

The fire was the second this month sparked by a makeshift pet heater. A light bulb in a doghouse ignited a fire that gutted a Nine Mile Falls home Feb. 11. , DataTimes