Three fires damage homes in Nevada

Nevada Daily Mail

A string of three house fires -- all taking place between 7 p.m. and midight -- kept the Nevada Fire Department busy on Monday.

Just after 7 p.m. firefighters responded to a home in the 400 block of South Pine Street, and found fire and smoke coming from the attic. The fire was extinguished and the attic ventilated. Firefighters also pulled away the ceiling in a bedroom to get to burning embers and to be sure the fire had not spread from a burned truss. A short circuit had burned wiring in two, then ignited blown-in insulation nearby. Firefighters were on the scene for nearly an hour and 20 minutes, and the damage to this home was estimated at $5,000.

Less than an hour after firefighters left the scene of the Pine Street fire, another call came in. Just after 9 p.m., a home in the 600 block of East Maple was reported by a neighbor. On arrival, firefighters found smoke coming from the rear of the structure. Having determined no one was at home at the time, firefighters set about putting out the fire. The Missouri State Fire Marshal's office was contacted to investigate, and determined that an overloaded electrical outlet had started the fire. The home was destroyed, with damage estimated at $32,000. Firefighters left the scene after 2 hours and 32 minutes.

About an hour after they had left the Maple Street scene, another house fire was reported. Arriving at the scene just before 11:45 p.m., firefighters found smoke coming from the rear of a home in the 500 block of South Ash. This time, an outdoor electrical outlet had short-circuited, catching the outside wall on fire. Firefighters put out the fire, preventing its spread in an operation that took 38 minutes.

No injuries were reported in any of the three incidents.