Oxford firefighters really earned their pay with two structure fires in three days.
‘Both constitute what we would call ‘good saves? on the houses, but very expensive damage,? explained Fire Chief Jack LeRoy. ‘It’s amazing ? a little fire can do a lot of damage.?
An attached garage was reported on fire at 650 Mallard Way in the Glenmoor on the Lake subdivision around 1:42 a.m. Friday, April 11.
‘It appears the resident had taken live ashes from a fireplace earlier in the day and put them into a plastic trash can in the garage where they smoldered until the can and garage caught fire,? LeRoy said.
The fire caused $30,000 in structural damage (including smoke throughout the two-story house) and $5,000 in lost contents. No vehicles were in the garage at the time.
Firefighters were then called out to a house fire at 2323 Hummer Lake Rd., just east of Baldwin Rd., shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday, April 13.
It appears an electrical problem with a home entertainment center was the cause of the fire inside the two-story, 2,200-square-foot home, according to LeRoy.
‘It smoldered for a long time before it burned a hole through the living room floor,? he said. ‘It finally got up enough temperature to blow the back window out of the house. The fire got more oxygen and started free-burning.?
LeRoy estimated the fire caused anywhere from $100,000 to $125,000 in structural/interior damage plus an additional $50,000 to $75,000 in lost contents.
‘The whole interior of that house is covered in black soot from the plastic by-products,? the chief explained. ‘People don’t realize everything we’ve got today is made of plastic and it gives off this black, sooty smoke.?
‘That’s probably going to require that whole house being stripped right down to the studs,? added LeRoy, noting the hydrocarbon smoke from burning plastic permeates insulation and stains drywall, which also traps the odor.
Orion and Brandon firefighters assisted with the Mallard Way incident, while Brandon firefighters helped with the blaze on Hummer Lake Rd.