Separate fires damage house and porch swing

Separate fire incidents on Thursday and Friday damaged a home and a porch swing. Neither fire resulted in injury to homeowners. Cleburne firefighters responded to a house fire on the 1400 block of Phillips Street at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters arrived to find light smoke showing. Firefighters extinguished the fire and installed fans to clear the smoke.

The fire damaged two couches and other items in the living room and caused smoke and heat damage throughout other areas of the home, Assistant Fire Chief Keith Scarbrough said.

Firefighters next began salvage and overhaul operations, checking the rest of the home to ensure the fire was totally extinguished.

The homeowners were away at the time of the fire. A relative told firefighters he managed to extinguish some of the fire with an extinguisher before their arrival. The cause of the fire remains to be determined. Red Cross officials arrived on scene to assist the family with finding a place to stay.

A Friday fire at a home on the 900 block of East James Street only resulted in damage to a porch swing. Firefighters responded to the call at 9:44 p.m. to find remnants of the porch swing, but no damage to the home. What was left of the swing was out when firefighters arrived with no smoldering and cool to the touch.

A neighbor told firefighters that another neighbor told her the house was on fire initially. Neighbors found the swing burning when they investigated and managed to put it out using buckets of water.

The cause of the fire remains to be determined although witnesses said they saw some children running down the road shortly before the fire was discovered. The homeowners were out of town at the time.
By Matt Smith in The Cleburne Times-Review