Wednesday, December 29, 1999

Family escapes as fire destroys home

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BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Seven people escaped unharmed as a two-alarm fire destroyed a North Fairmount house Tuesday evening.

        Firefighters were called shortly after 6 p.m. to the single-family house at 2041 Yoast Ave. When they arrived, flames were shooting from the basement and a sub-basement, said District 3 Fire Chief Chris Corbett.

        Two adults and five children were already outside.

        The home was occupied by Jeffrey Mason and his family, officials said.

        Damage was estimated at $75,000.

        Chief Corbett said the residents smelled smoke, heard a smoke detector and saw flames before evacuating the house. A cause had not been determined; a fire investigator was at the scene Tuesday.

        Chief Corbett speculated the cause might have been electrical. It spread from the lower floors into the walls up to the roof.

        The family's furnace had not been functioning for three weeks, and they were using electric space heaters to warm the home, he said.

        On at least two occasions, the heaters overloaded the house's circuit breakers, the chief said.

        He urged people to be cautious when using such heaters, because they can easily overload a home's circuitry. “Make sure you check the wattage and whether your outlet matches it,” said Chief Corbett.

        The family had fire insurance and will stay with relatives, he said.

       

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