Shed fire causes $12,000 in damage

Smoldering fireplace ashes were the culprit in a shed fire last Thursday that did an estimated $12,000 in damage.

According to Deputy Fire Chief Tim Craig, a homeowner on Camp Polk Road cleaned out his fireplace at about 1 p.m., placing the ashes in a plastic container and leaving the container next to a yard shed. He believed the ashes were dead out. They weren't.

The homeowner left the property for errands. At about 5:45 p.m., his daughter called 911 to report a fire. Heat or flame from the ashes had flared up into a blaze.

"Before she could finish the 911 call, the fire had run up the side of the shed," Craig reported.

Sisters firefighters responded quickly and got the fire knocked down before it spread to the house. The shed and its contents, however, were a total loss. Craig estimated contents loss at $10,000 and the shed damage at about $2,000.

The deputy chief told The Nugget that fireplace ashes should always be disposed of in a metal container with a lid, and left for many days to ensure that they are dead out. Better yet, he said, is to add water to the container and mix the ashes into a slurry.