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Saturday, November 21, 2009 |
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Officials say fire appears accidental
Published October 28, 2009
SEGUIN — Investigators believe a weekend fire started with an electric blanket.
On Saturday afternoon, several area fire departments responded to a large house fire on FM 1117 around 2:30 p.m. Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Investigator Lt. Kevin Jordan said the fire started in one of the bedrooms and, after a few hours, firefighters from several departments were able to control the blaze.
“The owner said his granddaughter told him that her room was on fire,” Jordan said. “He said he then went in there, and saw the bed was on fire. We learned the granddaughter had been using an electric blanket in the recent cold weather and that it had been plugged in all day.”
Ten people were in the house at the time of the fire. They were treated on the scene by EMS and released.
On Saturday night, firefighters in Seguin were called to a second house fire that heavily damaged a North Camp Street home.
Seguin Fire Marshal Greg Dreiss said Tuesday he was still working to determine the cause of the blaze.
Arriving firefighters reported the residence, a single-family home, was completely in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene.
Dreiss said one resident suffered a minor heat injury in the fire, reported at 10:30 p.m. in the 2100 block.
The victim refused treatment at the scene and wasn’t taken to the hospital.
“The cause is under investigation, but it does not appear suspicious at this point,” Dreiss said.
Dreiss said there are many simple steps people can take to stay warm for the winter, without impairing fire safety.
“Be aware of where you place space heaters,” Dreiss said. “Don’t place them too close to anything combustible, including drapes and beds. Don’t plug heaters into outlets that aren’t rated for them, and don’t use extension chords for heaters. Also purchase carbon monoxide detectors if you are using gas appliances. Make sure you change the batteries in your smoke detectors every six months, day light saving time changeovers are good days to remember to do it. If you are using a fire place, make sure it is clean and safe for ignition and that your flue is open.”
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