Woman, 3 Children Escape Unharmed From House Fire
A woman and her three children managed to escape unharmed from an early morning fire that began after the woman lit a cigarette near a propane camp heater she had been trying to fix in her bedroom.
The propane heater either was inadvertently left on or was leaking when Cindy Buettner lit a cigarette in the home, Westminster Fire Capt. Craig Campbell said.
After the fire started at about 6:15 a.m., Buettner woke her 7-year-old twin daughters and 4-year-old daughter, and the family ran out of the house. Firefighters arrived at the house at 6:22 a.m. and put the fire out in 15 minutes, Campbell said.
Structural damage to the house, mostly to the bedroom, was estimated at $50,000, while damage to items inside was approximately $25,000.
Buettner had been working on the heater for a camping trip. The Orange County Red Cross provided food, clothing and shelter for the family.
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