MONROE — A neighbor who called authorities after seeing black smoke coming out of a nearby basement window helped prevent what “could have been a very tragic situation,” said Monroe Fire Chief Dan Smits.

Firefighters were dispatched to the house in the 1400 block of 22nd Avenue just after 3 p.m. Tuesday.

An out-of-control fire within a wood-burning stove in the unfinished basement had spread into its vent and just outside the vent.

The stove was being used to supplement heat from the home’s furnace, and neither was installed properly, Smits said.

“The vent was literally right next to the wood siding,” Smits said. “It could have been a very tragic situation if the neighbor had not spotted this early.” 

Wood stoves should be vented above the roofline and never be in contact with anything combustible, Smits said. In this case, the stove was up against the house’s wood siding and had a short vent out a basement window located about 20 feet below the roofline.

The people living in the home moved in recently, were not responsible for installing the furnace or wood stove and are working to fix the issues, Smits said.

In the meantime, the house has been declared uninhabitable until the heating equipment is repaired, displacing all four adults and three children.

“They have a tough situation going,” Smits said.

He praised the neighbor for calling to report the fire.

“There clearly had been some black smoke coming out of that basement area, and it was a good thing we were called,” Smits said.