Quick response of NAFD minimizes damages to residence

New Albany Fire/Rescue, on Thursday April 11, at 6 pm, answered a call for a “fully involved” house fire at 110 Garfield street.

The first arriving truck was on the scene in under 2 minutes from the time we received the call, and crews reported only smoke showing from a window. The crew forced entry on the home, made a very fast attack on the fire and extinguished it. A New Albany Police officer was on the scene and reported there was a possibility of a resident still being in the home.

The second truck arrived and quick search was made. It was verified that nobody was at home at the time of the fire. There was minor fire and water damage to the home, moderate smoke, and minimal heat damage, along with some wiring damage.

No injuries were reported by fire personnel or residents and a family pet survived with what appeared to be no health or physical issues.

The cause of the fire was determined unintentional at this time and to be electrical in nature. It started in the vicinity of an electrical outlet that an air conditioner was plugged into. The home had working smoke alarms and they were sounding an alarm when the Station 1 crew arrived. Crews were on the scene for less than an hour and returned to service.

“Obviously, the home was not fully involved as reported. This is a good example of the importance of a quick response by the fire department, good operating equipment, great training, and how important it is to get a quick attack on the fire, along with having operating smoke alarms,” New Albany Deputy Fire Chief, Mark Whiteside said.