ROCK – A fire which gutted the top floor of a home in Washington Township on Saturday started at an electrical outlet “inside the wall behind the insulation,” Mike Stalnecker, township fire marshal, said Sunday night.
The Saturday afternoon blaze roared through 25 Doe Drive, the home of David and Denise Poda.
Stalnecker returned to the scene Sunday to continue his investigation. He said the fire was accidental, but he still has questions about the ignition.
“I’m going to call it an electrical fire,” he said. “I’ve managed to pinpoint it to a specific electric outlet. It wasn’t overloaded. That’s what’s a little confusing about it.
“The wire is melted there. You can see from the burn pattern it went from there, but I’m not 100 percent sure why it happened. Was there a short for some reason? Or what? And it was inside the wall, behind the insulation. It started in there.”
Stalnecker said his investigation is complete, but he will make himself available to answer questions for insurance company representatives.
The homeowners were on scene Sunday to remove their belongings from the building.
“It’s not livable, but it’s not a total loss,” Stalnecker said. “They were able to get a lot of personal belongings out of there today. But the second floor is gutted.”
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