Star-Tribune staff
Two fires Wednesday
afternoon and early Thursday morning caused damage inside the homes
in which they
started.
Casper Fire-EMS responded to a
structure fire at 1311 Cherry St. at about 2:15 a.m. today. There,
fire crews extinguished a burning mattress in the upstairs bedroom
of the two-story home, according to a release. A smoke detector
alerted the lone occupant and the person got out of the house
without any reported
injuries.
According to the release, Casper
Fire-EMS investigators believe the fire started because the
occupant was smoking a cigarette in bed. The cigarette lit the
mattress on fire, and the fire caused smoke and heat damage to the
home. There's no estimate of the damages yet, according to the
release.
At about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday,
emergency crews responded to a structure fire at 518 S. Washington.
Smoke was coming out of the home when firefighters arrived at the
scene, according to a Casper Fire-EMS
report.
No one was inside the home at the time
of the fire, though a cat died inside the house. The fire was
extinguished in the kitchen area, and appears to have started on or
near the stovetop.
There have now been three fires reported this week that have
caused significant damage to the homes where they ignited. A fire
earlier this week completely gutted the inside of a home on North
Kimball Street. The man inside the home escaped safely.
Casper Fire-EMS advises the public not
to smoke in bed. Residents shouldn't leave stovetops unattended, or
use them as a source of
heat.
