Fire damages home on Selborne Road in Riverside
Roof repairs were being done immediately prior to fire report
By Bob Uphues
A fire which seriously damaged the rear portion of the home at 540 Selborne Road in Riverside on Nov. 21 at about 10:45 a.m. started on the building's flat tar-covered roof, according to Fire Chief Matthew Buckley, and appears to have resulted from repair work being done at the time.
No one was hurt, but the house was rendered uninhabitable by the fire, which traveled through the rear interior walls and joist channels. A pair of bedrooms on the top floor of the split level sustained "extensive" damage as well, Buckley said. There was also smoke damage throughout the house.
"Where the two roofs meet, it's a split level, and the fire actually was in the walls where all that comes together and meets," said Buckley. "You can see just by looking at all the different layers it was difficult to get in there and dig and get to actually where the fire was."
The blaze also damaged the non-structural brick face of the rear wall, and firefighters were forced to take down a section of the brick wall, which was detaching from the frame structure beneath.
The home was purchased by new owners within the past two months and they had been doing a number of improvement projects since that time. A neighbor told the Landmark that a worker was using an open flame on the roof Friday.
A work van and trailer were parked in the driveway of the home on Saturday morning.
Contact:
Email: buphues@wjinc.com Twitter: @RBLandmark
Love the Landmark?
Become our partner in independent community journalism
Thanks for turning to Riverside Brookfield Landmark and RBLandmark.com. We love our thousands of digital-only readers. Now though we're asking you to partner up in paying for our reporters and photographers who report this news. It had to happen, right?
On the plus side, we're giving you a simple way, and a better reason, to join in. We're now a non-profit -- Growing Community Media -- so your donation is tax deductible. And signing up for a monthly donation, or making a one-time donation, is fast and easy.
No threats from us. The news will be here. No paywalls or article countdowns. We're counting on an exquisite mix of civic enlightenment and mild shaming. Sort of like public radio.
Claim your bragging rights. Become a digital member.
Reader Comments
No Comments - Add Your Comment
Note: This page requires you to login with Facebook to comment.
Facebook Connect
Quick Links
Sign-up to get the latest news updates for Riverside and Brookfield. | |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Subscribe | Classified |
Multimedia | Contact us |
Submit Letter To The Editor | |
Place a Classified Ad |
Latest Comments
My Florida friends over 65 have all been vaccinated at...
By Matt Leuck
Posted: January 20th, 2021 11:20 AM
Jan is going by the left's playbook: She wants to...
By Jay Aldrich
Posted: January 19th, 2021 11:00 AM
This rambling cruel attack on Trump Voters isn't...
By Mark Winston
Posted: January 15th, 2021 2:24 PM
I am all for solar savings but I also was informed...
By Angela Cruz
Posted: January 14th, 2021 8:14 PM
Kudos to Riverside Foods for taking this step towards...
By Candi Suriano Grace
Posted: January 14th, 2021 6:14 PM
Sadly, many of these voters vote Republican because...
By Rita Kuzmenko
Posted: January 13th, 2021 5:23 PM