Fire started with clothes, fluorescent light

MOSES LAKE - A basement to a Moses Lake residence sustained fire damage Monday night.

A woman staying at the residence reportedly hung clothes from a water pipe in the basement, Assistant Fire Chief Brett Bastian said.

The clothing came into contact with an older fluorescent light ballast, the shroud above the bulbs, he said. Older style light ballast can give off heat and if working improperly can get hot enough to start a fire.

The light fixture in the basement was sufficiently hot enough to start the clothes on fire, according to Bastian.

Additional clothing located under the lamp eventually caught fire from flaming debris and eventually led to part of the floor catching fire, he said. A washer and dryer unit sustained fire damage.

The fire damage was limited to the basement but the rest of the residence sustained smoke damage, Bastian said. There were no injuries.

According to Moses Lake Police records the woman living at the residence is the person who called 9-1-1.

It took the 12 firefighters approximately 10 minutes to gain access to the fire and extinguish it, Bastian said.

Between 25 and 30 gallons of water were used from the fire department truck to extinguish the fire, he said. A melted water pipe provided assistance to the department as it sprayed water over the fire.