COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus Fire Department investigators are calling a house fire on Hughes Street accidental after an electrical malfunction resulted in extensive fire damage to the home. The owner of the home was able to escape.
Firefighters were called to 11 N. Hughes St. at about 10:24 p.m. Friday. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they saw fire and smoke coming from the front porch window of a single story home. Columbus Police Officers made contact the owner of the property, Curtis Miller, who had fled to a neighboring home, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
Miller told officers that the no other persons were inside the residence. Fire crews entered the home and found heavy fire conditions in a living room area. Crews applied water to the flames and the fire was marked under control within 10 minutes of firefighter’s arrival on the scene, Wilson said.
Additional firefighters completed a primary and secondary search of the home and confirmed no one was inside. Miller told investigators that he was watching a television in a bedroom at the rear of the home when he was startled by a noise coming from the front of the home. Miller told investigators that he looked toward the living room area and saw the glow of flames. Miller said he then left from a rear exit of his home and ran to a neighbor’s home to ask them to report the fire to 9-1-1. Miller was not injured.
Miller told fire investigators that earlier in the evening, he had moved a portable fireplace heating appliance from a room at the rear of the home to the home’s living room. Miller stated that he plugged the device into a floor mounted electrical receptacle without incident.
Investigators focused their attention on the fireplace heating device and the electrical receptacle when they found evidence of electrical arcing within the receptacle. Investigators determined the cause of the fire was accidental due to electrical malfunction, Wilson said. Investigators said that the electrical draw from the device may have caused the receptacle to short out and contributed to the development of fire.
Damages to the home are estimated at approximately $50,000. Miller told firefighters that he would be temporarily staying with neighbors. No working smoke alarms were located in the home during the course of the investigation.
The Columbus Fire Department would like to remind the community on the importance of working smoke alarms in the home. Working smoke alarms save lives and provide early detection of smoke and fire, which allows occupants the precious time needed to safely escape a fire in the home. A working smoke alarm should be installed on each floor of the home and in or near sleeping rooms. Smoke alarm batteries should be replaced at least once each year and alarms should be tested weekly to ensure the alarm functions appropriately. The Columbus Fire Department can provide assistance to residents with the installation of working smoke alarm. For more information on the Columbus Fire Department Smoke Alarm Program, contact the department at (812) 376-2679.
