North Lincoln Fire & Rescue was dispatched Saturday morning at around 11:25am to a call of “visible smoke from a structure in the area near North Bank Road and Trout Lane in Otis.  A passerby noticed white smoke coming out of the roof vents, and heard a smoke alarm sounding, but could not see an address on the house.  The passerby called 9-1-1 and knocked on the door to see if the house was occupied.

The home was unoccupied at the time of the fire and arriving fire crews broke down the side door and quickly extinguished the fire that was contained to one bedroom in the rear of the structure. Approximately a dozen North Lincoln volunteer firefighters responded to the incident, in several engines, a tender and rescues. North Lincoln’s Fire Marshal Doug Kerr investigated the scene yesterday and estimated the property loss and damage to the dwelling to be near 50,000 dollars; the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Capt. Jim Kusz with North Lincoln Fire said this incident serves as a reminder to have working smoke alarms and a visible address on your home or business.

Having your property well marked with an address that can be easily seen on you building from the roadway or at the end your driveway he said greatly assists fire, police and medical crews to locate you quickly during emergencies. You can get reflective address plates at the North Lincoln Fire and Rescue’s Bob Everest Station in Oceanlake or the St. Clair Station in the Taft area in Lincoln City.

Information provided by NLFR Jim Kusz