COLUMBUS, Ind. - The Columbus Fire Department (CFD) responded to an early Sunday morning fire that was apparently caused by discarded charcoal ashes. It affected two mobile homes in Candlelight Village.
Both families escaped without injury, but damage to the residences will require extensive repair before the homes will be habitable.
Firefighters were called to the Candlelight Village community at around 2:40 a.m. on Sunday after a report of a structure on fire. When crews arrived on the scene, they found a detached storage building with heavy flames at 3760 Candlelight Drive.
As CFD prepared a fire attack, extreme heat from the blaze caused the fire to extend to a neighboring home at 3746 Candlelight Drive. Firefighters battled flames for 10 minutes before the fire at both houses was under control. The two families escaped before the arrival of fire crews.
The resident of 3760 Candlelight Drive told firefighters that he was awoken by a community member knocking on his door to report the fire. The occupant of that home said that all three adults and a small child were asleep when they heard the knock at the door. The neighbor at 3746 Candlelight Drive told firefighters that he could feel the extreme heat inside his home and evacuated with his family.
Damage was most extensive at 3760 Candlelight Drive, where flames breached a window and entered the living space and attic area near the rear of the home. Damages at 3746 Candlelight Drive were primarily to the exterior of the home, including melted vinyl siding and the disablement of the electrical system.
CFD investigators learned that a charcoal grill was used on Friday evening, and the ashes for the grill were discarded near the wooden storage building on Saturday evening. They found burn patterns on the exterior of the wooden storage building that matched the location where the ashes were found.
Both families will be displaced and are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. There were no injuries to firefighters or residents.
Investigators have ruled the cause of the fire as accidental due to improper disposal of a cooking fuel.
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