2/10/09

Mice causes house fire!

BURLINGTON -- Mice chewing through electrical wires inside a wall started a fire over the weekend that caused thousands of dollars of damage to a house on Overlake Park, Burlington Fire Department officials said.Burlington firefighters were called to the scene at 82 Overlake Park at about 2 a.m. Saturday after the homeowners smelled smoke and could feel intense heat coming through the second story floor.

Because the fire was inside the walls of the home, firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to pinpoint the flames that had already spread from the first and second floors into a third, said fire officials. Fire crews extinguished the blaze by breaking through walls on the first and second floors.The fire - caused by mice that had chewed through a 220 volt electric wire - had burned about two hours before residents smelled smoke, said Burlington Fire Department Assistant Fire Marshal Thomas Middleton.Middleton said the $700,000 home sustained about $80,000 in damages.