The cause of a destructive fire in East Emporia is still under investigation nearly a week later.
According to a news release from Emporia Fire Marshall Stephen Beemer, investigators are still looking into the potential cause of the fire that damaged two dwellings and a storage unit at 702 East Sixth Avenue this past Friday. No injuries were reported with the incident that shut down traffic for a portion of East 12th Avenue for over an hour as crews battled the fire.
This was one of three fire-related incidents that occurred over the past weekend and one of two that same day, as shortly after clearing the scene of the East Sixth fire, Emporia and area fire crews were called to 2207 East Bayfront Court for a separate structure fire that damaged a home at the address.
The cause of that fire was deemed to be accidental and resulted from a high-resistance electrical connection malfunction within the home’s laundry room. The third incident occurred Sunday at 1120 Chestnut Street, with the cause also being deemed accidental due to improper maintenance of the home’s fireplace.
Beemer says these incidents serve as a reminder of the importance of routine maintenance and fire safety awareness, especially during the winter months.
