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Family of 3 displaced from home after evap. cooler catches fire

Posted: Aug 22, 2012 11:55 AM by Ian Cross
Updated: Aug 22, 2012 11:57 AM


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TUCSON - A family of three has been displaced after an evaporative cooling unit caught fire - Tucson Fire crews responded and had the fire under control within 10 minutes.

TFD received three 911 calls reporting the fire at about 4:50 a.m. this morning, according to a news release from the department, and units were on scene by 5:05 a.m. to find flames coming from the roof of the house.

A father and his two teenage children were inside the house, and as firefighters forced their way their way into the front door, he opened it and exited the house, the release states. The kids had exited through a side door. Neighbors had been banging on doors and windows to wake everyone in the house, Captain Barrett Baker with TFD states.

Fire crews removed the cooling unit from the roof and used a hose to extinguish remaining flames, the release states. They used a thermal imaging camera to determine if the fire had spread into the walls or attic, and used hose lines inside to extinguish any hot spots.

It took nine units and 24 firefighters 10 minutes to bring the fire under control. There were no injuries, and the Red Cross is assisting the family with their needs.

The damage to the house is estimated to be $25,000, Captain Baker states. He says the home's smoke detectors were not functioning, and the residents not been woken up by neighbors, the outcome could have been very different.

Images courtesy Tucson Fire Department

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