A fire that caused nearly $50,000 damage to a home north of Madras Thursday afternoon was traced to a heat lamp for some baby chicks that got too close to a kiddie pool and caught the carpet, floor and sub-floor on fire, an official said. Some baby chicks were lost to the blaze, but several other animals, including several snakes, survived, said Fire Chief Brian Huff of Jefferson County Fire District No. 1.
Huff said crews responded to the reported possible house fire in the 1000 block of Northwest Elm Lane, five miles north of Madras.
Huff said smoke was coming from most of the crawlspace vents on the west end of the single-story home when he arrived.
Circling the home, "you could see that the entire home was full of smoke," Huff said.