Late night fire destroys attic in Midland

From The Midland Reporter Telegram
No one was injured late Sunday in a fire that destroyed an attic of a two-story Central Midland home, Midland fire officials said Monday. The fire started shortly after 10 p.m. at 1406 W. Indiana Ave. Fire crews responding said smoke was coming from the roof of the estimated 2,500-square-foot home.

Firefighters used the ladder truck to cut a hole in the roof for ventilation and to gain access to the fire; the homeowner’s electricity also was shut off as a precaution, officials said.

The one resident inside at the time the fire started managed to get out of the home and was unharmed; officials said he smelled something like paper burning and opened the closet where the furnace was kept to see flames around the ceiling deck.

MFD Assistant Fire Marshal David Hickman said Monday the cause of the fire was started by the upstairs heater and the damage was confined to the attic space. There was some minimal water damage in other parts of the home but no smoke damage.

Nine MFD units responded to the fire; the homeowner did not have insurance, Hickman said, and was unable to stay in the home overnight since the power was shut off.