Flower pot starts fire, scorches home near Lake Stevens

Home security video shows a potted plant starting a fire in Snohomish County yesterday around 3:50 p.m.

Snohomish County Regional Fire and Rescue responded to the scene at 3100 block of 78th Avenue SE in Lake Stevens, arriving at the scene where the entire backside of the house had caught fire and flames had started to reach up to the attic.

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Firefighters from Engine 83 began to create vents in the roof in order to vent the heat and smoke from the attic and were able to quickly get the fire under control.

They say that venting is a good method firefighters use to more effectively put fires out by reducing the heat in the area that can fuel fire, as well as clearing the smoke to get better access and views of the fire itself.

The outside of a Lake Stevens home is completely scorched by the suspected spontaneous combustion caused by the soil in the flower pot.

Crews say soil in a flower pot on the deck spontaneously combusted, which is a rare, but not unheard of, occurrence. Plants, moss, and bark spontaneously combusting happen when the plant matter starts to decompose, coupled with heat from the sun and many other factors coming together just right.

Snohomish County Regional Fire recommends that dry combustible materials are not kept near houses or decks. They say you should build a defensible zone around your house by keeping the grass around your house green and using fire-resistant landscaping and plants.

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