Firefighters ventilating smoke from the roof of the house. Photo by Mike Heaton.
At 12:30 this afternoon, firefighters responded to a house fire at 23rd Avenue East and East Mercer Street. When firefighters arrived they saw heavy smoke and flames coming from windows of the two story house. There was nobody home when the fire occurred and there were no injuries.
Firefighters made an aggressive attack on the fire and were able to bring it under control quickly. They spent a significant amount of time ventilating the smoke, putting out hot spots, and digging out fire from the attic and wall spaces. More than 40 firefighters responded to the fire. Crews were rotated through due to the hot weather.
Fire Investigators determined that this was an accidental electrical fire. Damage was estimated at $500,000.
