A Riverside home sustained about $20,000 in damage after a fire spread through the basement and part of the first floor on the afternoon of June 19.
Firefighters responded to the 1.5-story frame bungalow at 73 Northgate Road just before 5 p.m. after a neighbor called 911 to report the blaze. All three residents of the home were able to evacuate the home safely, although one was treated for minor smoke exposure, according to Fire Chief Spencer Kimura.
Damage to the home was principally along the west wall, particularly to the lower part of the home, where the fire originated. Although the cause has not been determined definitively, it appears to have started in the southwest corner of the basement.
“The heat source appears to have been either a short in the electrical wiring or an electrical source and something combustible next to it,” said Kimura, who added that whatever caused the fire appears to have been accidental.
Firefighters had to open up walls in the basement and first floor to extinguish the fire. They also broke windows and opened a hole in the roof to ventilate smoke from the building.
More than a dozen other fire departments responded to the scene, which was not cleared until about 8 p.m. The house is not habitable at this time, according to Kimura.
