COLUMBUS, Ind. – A Columbus family escaped injury after a fire broke out in the attic of a Washington Street home on Wednesday, November 20. Firefighters found extensive damage in an isolated area of the attic, which required the removal of a sizable portion of the ceiling in the area where the blaze occurred.
The Columbus Fire Department (CFD) was dispatched to the 2600 block of Washington Street at 5 p.m. after the homeowner was alerted to smoke in the home’s attic and called 9-1-1. When firefighters arrived, they saw light smoke coming from the roofline and gable vents. They entered the home and located flames within the attic’s insulation.
Initially using a pressurized water can fire extinguisher, firefighters were able to douse the visible fire. They quickly determined that additional fire spread was hidden beneath the insulation, extending in a large area from where the initial flames were located. Crews removed a portion of the ceiling above one of the home’s bedrooms and doused more water until the flames and smoldering insulation were fully extinguished.
During the initial investigation, firefighters learned that blown-in attic insulation had been applied earlier in the day. The homeowner told them that, at some point following the insulation installation, an odor was detected in the home, but did not immediately cause concern. During the homeowner’s investigation into the source, it was discovered that a power outage occurred within a bedroom.
Inspecting the home’s electrical box, the owner told firefighters that the breaker for that bedroom had tripped. An attempt to reset the breaker failed, according to the owner. It was soon after that a contractor working in the home found smoke in the attic and alerted the owner of a possible fire prompting the 9-1-1 call.
Damage within the attic space indicated that a smoldering fire occurred within the insulation. The fire made contact with multiple ceiling joists, which was visible by extensive charring. CFD said crews encountered one joist within the attic where a two-foot section of the joist had completely burned away and one additional joist that was nearly burned through.
The family will be temporarily displaced due to damage. Immediate disaster services have been offered through the American Red Cross. No injuries were reported at the scene, and no damage estimate was provided.
