A bedroom fire caused $20,000 damage to a condominium in Edmonds this morning, displacing the three people who lived there.

No one was inside the townhouse unit in the 7800 block of 196th St. SW at the time of the fire and no one was injured. The owner called 9-1-1 at 11:11 a.m. when she returned home from work to find her townhouse filled with smoke.

Firefighters quickly extinguished a small fire in an upstairs bedroom. “They were able to contain the fire to a small area in the bedroom, but there was smoke damage throughout the second floor of the townhouse,” said Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1, which provides fire and emergency medical service in Edmonds.

The owner has insurance. Investigators determined the accidental fire was started by combustibles placed too close to an electric in-wall heater.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen quite a few fires this winter that started the same way. All combustible items such as papers, books, furniture, curtains and clothing should be at least three feet away from electric in-wall and baseboard heaters,” Hynes said.