COLUMBUS – An electrical malfunction caused a fire Friday night that seriously damaged a Columbus home on North Hughes Street.
Columbus Fire Department firefighters responded to the blaze at 10:24 p.m. When they arrived they found heavy smoke and fire shooting from the front window of the single-story home. Firefighters entered the home and found heavy flames in the living room.
It took firefighters about 10 minutes to extinguish the blaze.
According to firefighters, the owner had been watching TV in a bedroom when he heard a strange noise from the front of the home and saw flames in the living room. He fled to a neighboring home, where a neighbor called 911.
The homeowner said that earlier in the day he had moved an electric fireplace to the living room and plugged it directly into a floor outlet. Investigators found signs of electrical arcing at that outlet. They suspect that the heavy electrical draw of the fireplace may have caused a short, igniting fire.
There was no evidence of any working smoke alarms found in the home. Firefighters stress the importance of having working smoke alarms and offer a program to install them.
Damages are estimated at $50,000 and the home is not livable. No one was injured. The homeowner is staying with neighbors temporarily.
