NORCROSS — A family of five is safe after their home caught fire early Friday morning.
The blaze started in the kitchen. Fire officials say family members heard a leaking faucet and found a fire under the sink. The fire spread through the kitchen and the adjacent living room.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at 3:34 a.m. after an occupant’s report of a house fire on Summerour Street in Norcross. The caller to 911 reported seeing flames in the kitchen.
As crews arrived on the scene, they found fire and smoke pushing out of the right side of a one-story, single-family residence on a basement. A pre-connected hand line was deployed to begin fighting the flames that had started melting the carport. Firefighters were met with heavy fire as they attempted to enter the residence through the kitchen.
An aggressive attack enabled crews to gain control of the fire and extinguish it before it could advance beyond the adjacent living room.
According to the incident commander, the occupants were asleep when they heard sounds of a leaking faucet in the kitchen. They tried to decipher the noise and its source by opening the cabinet under the kitchen sink which is where they found fire. The rest of the family was made aware of the situation, and everyone was able to safely evacuate as the phone call for help was made.
Smoke alarms in the home were inoperable.
A fire investigator confirmed the fire started in the kitchen. While he cannot rule out the cause to be electrical, the exact cause of the fire is undetermined.
The fire caused extensive damage in the kitchen and living room with heavy smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.
Firefighters encourage all citizens to practice home fire safety by doing the following:
- Be sure to install working smoke alarms on every level of the home and in each bedroom.
- Develop a home escape plan and practice fire drills regularly.
- Check and maintain home heating appliances such as the furnace, fireplace and space heater.
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