JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Red Cross is helping three people after their house caught on fire Thursday morning.
It happened on Forest Hills Road in the Lake Forest Hills neighborhood.
Recommended Videos
Captain Eric Prosswimmer with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department believes there was an electrical problem in the house’s attic that sparked the fire.
Firefighters got to the scene around 8:45 a.m. and put the fire out within thirty minutes.
According to JFRD, one person was home when the fire broke out and managed to make it out of the house before first responders got there.
Prosswimmer said it was crucial firefighters got that fire out quickly.
“The fact that it was contained in the attic space itself lent a hand to us and extinguishing it,” he said. “Once you get water in there, it turns into steam, and it does not have a lot of places to go. There is not a lot of oxygen feeding the fire.”
Homeowners said a tree fell on the house in May 2022 and have been working to get it repaired before this fire. That included running into serious issues with a company hired to do the job.
The Red Cross is helping them for the time being because of the damage the fire caused, but the house is salvageable.
“We have pulled ceilings, we have turned some stuff up to get to [the fire] and get water on it,” Prosswimmer said. “[At] the peak of the roof, [the fire] stops pretty much there. [Firefighters] did a phenomenal job stopping it. That whole left side of the house is salvageable. It probably has a little bit of smoke damage.”
No one was hurt.