PUYALLUP, Wash. - Fire marshals believe they have found the possible cause of a Puyallup house fire. The investigation led them to the homeowners' car, which happens to be part of the biggest recall in the history of the Ford Motor Company.
The house fire woke up neighbors in the middle of the night last week.
"I looked out the window and first saw flames out the carport," said neighbor Julie Camfield.
"The occupants of the home were woken by an explosion and went outside and found the car itself was on fire," said Sam Patrick, Pierce County Deputy Fire Marshal.
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The homeowner had just driven her 1996 Lincoln Town Car home an hour before the fire started. Patrick says that car was the probable cause. The flames spread up through the carport and into the home, causing more than $200,000 worth of damage.
"It looks like the fire itself started by the driver's side under the hood, basically where the controls come through the firewall," said Patrick.
The Lincoln Town Car was part of a major recall involving a faulty cruise control switch that could catch fire. The homeowner was going to take the car in the next day to have it serviced.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports the Ford Motor Company has now recalled more than 14 million Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles because of the faulty switch.
* 1995-2003 Ford Windstars.
* 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesels.
* 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 Ford F-Super Duty diesels.
* 1992-2003 Ford Econolines.
* 1995-2002 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers.
* 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Rangers.
* 1994 Ford F53 motorhomes.
The company said today that it's aware of "only a small number of allegations of unattended fires" stemming from the defect.
From here, the fire marshal hands this investigation over to the insurance company who'll take the car apart.
Julie Camfield says other neighbors with Ford cars and trucks are heeding the lesson.
"I said I hope you take care of it. Because you could be in it when it happens," said Camfield.
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