Tenn. Crews Battle Five House Fires, Two Arsons
Source The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 31--Five residential fires, including two that were deliberately set, challenged Memphis firefighters between Monday afternoon and this morning.
No one was injured in any of the fires, according to information released by Lt. Wayne Cooke, a Memphis Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters controlled the latest blaze just before 6:30 a.m. this morning, five minutes after arriving at a duplex at 2428 Vollintine, near North Hollywood.
A kitchen stove hood malfunctioned, sparking the fire that caused an estimated total of $1,700 in damage in the duplex built in 1940.
The two fires that investigators determined were intentionally set erupted Monday about 10:05 p.m. on Oaklawn and about 11:45 p.m. on Southwall, according to the fire department.
Firefighters controlled the fire at 1796 Southwall, near Semmes and Lamar, within six minutes of their arrival, but it also caused about $1,000 damage to an adjacent house, fire officials reported.
Fires had been set "in multiple locations" in the two-bedroom house at 1796 Southwall, built in 1953, according to fire officials and county records.
The local chapter of the American Red Cross aided two adults and a child after the blaze caused an estimated $20,000 damage the house and $15,000 to its contents.
About 15 minutes before the fire on Southwall, another was reported about a third of a mile away at 2817 Brewer.
But fire department officials found that faulty electrical wiring in the living room area caused the fire in the three-bedroom house on Brewer, also built in 1953. The Red Cross also helped two adults and a child there.
The other intentionally set blaze on Monday was reported about 10:05 p.m. at 1480 Oaklawn, a vacant house near South Parkway and Barksdale. The fire caused an estimated $25,000 damage and remained under investigation, fire officials said.
In addition to those fires, about 3:45 p.m. on Monday firefighters extinguished one at a two-story home at 1861 N. Rainbow Drive, off McLean near Vollintine.
An overloaded electrical outlet in the living room caused the blaze in the three-bedroom house built in 1942. The Red Cross assisted one adult, according to fire officials.
The houses on Brewer and Rainbow had working smoke detectors; fire officials weren't sure about Southwall and the one on Vollintine did not have a working smoke detector, according to fire officials.
They urge all residents to have working smoke detectors and fire escape plans. City of Memphis residents can apply for a free smoke detector by calling the Fire Museum of Memphis at 636-5650.
Copyright 2012 - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
