Crime & Safety

Fire Department: Neighbors Saved Home from Fire

Residents are credited with acting quickly to prevent a Sunday afternoon fire from spreading.

Quick-thinking neighbors are credited with saving a Plainfield home after a fire broke out Sunday afternoon.

Deputy Chief Jon Stratton said investigators have not yet determined the cause of the blaze in the 22000 block of Bass Lake Road.

When firefighters arrived shortly around 4:30 p.m., neighbors were already battling the fire, which melted siding and spread to a vinyl fence in the backyard.

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“With the wind, it just blew down the side of the house,” said Stratton, noting the blaze is believed to have started near the driveway and was reported by a neighbor.

“The neighbors are very vigilant, and they had two or three garden hoses out there,” he said. “They did a very good job. If you ask me, they saved that house.”

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Stratton said the neighbors’ role was especially critical given the dry, windy conditions.

“It spread so fast,” he said. “With the wind and the dry conditions, it doesn’t take much.”

Stratton said some cigarette butts were found in the yard, but investigators haven’t determined if they sparked the blaze.

He estimated the damage at $10,000 to $15,000.

No injuries were reported in the fire.


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