HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson firefighters were called out just after 8 a.m. Monday to the report of a structure fire in the 1100 block of North Orchard. The person who called dispatch saw smoke coming from the roof vents.
When crews arrived, they saw light smoke coming from the attic vents and eaves of the home. Everyone got out safely and firefighters found an overheated electrical wire that had caused the insulation to start smoldering.
Once power was off, crews disconnected the wire and began pulling ceilings, then wet down the areas and the home was ventilated. The home was then checked for hot spots with a thermal imaging camera.
They don't know what overloaded the wire, but want to remind the public not to do things like plug space heaters into extension cords or other things that would draw too much current in old wiring.