Columbus firefighters were called to a home at 111 Reo St. after neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the structure.
Firefighters arrived at the home at 1:21 p.m. Wednesday and found light smoke coming from a window and door of the single story home. A neighbor had rescued two dogs from the home prior to the fire department’s arrival.
Firefighters went inside and extinguished a small fire in a bedroom, which had burned a 2-foot by 2-foot hole in the bedroom floor, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
They attempted to access the home’s crawl space from the exterior, but had to use a chainsaw to cut an access hole in the bedroom floor, Wilson said.
In the crawl space, firefighters found two floor joists had been damaged by fire and applied water to prevent the fire from rekindling.
Darren Foster, who lives at 111 Reo St., told investigators that he was at work when he was notified about the fire and arrived after the fire was out. Foster said he was unsure of what could have caused the fire.
Cause of the fire remains under investigation, Wilson said. Damage to the home is estimated at $10,000 and Foster has made housing arrangements with family members. No injuries were reported.
Wilson said there were no working smoke alarms in the home.
Agencies that assisted during the fire were the Columbus Police Department, Columbus Regional Health EMS, Vectren Energy, Duke Energy, Columbus Animal Care Services and the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
