Fire Guts Attic of San Angelo Home on Thanksgiving

A structure fire broke out just before 5 a.m. Thanksgiving morning on the 100 block of Allen Street. Ladder 1, Engines 3 and 4, fire rescue and crew responded, as did several ambulances. San Angelo police blocked off the street.

The attic area of the house was consumed with fire. Copious amount of smoke was observed everywhere. The cooler, humid air and no wind made the smoke linger all over the street and neighboring properties. “The attic had lots of spray-on insulation, generating a significant amount of smoke, too” Fire Marshal Ross Coleman said.

When firemen arrived, the low visibility conditions posed a small challenge of identifying exactly which structure on the street was bellowing smoke. But that obstacle was quickly overcome. The call came in at 4:56 a.m. and the fire was knocked out within 15 minutes.

According to Coleman’s initial investigation, the fire appeared to have been electrical. The house has a center wall that may have been a divider for making the structure a duplex sometime in the past. Inadequate wiring in the center wall may have been overloaded with demand from space heaters, sparking the fire.

The house experienced “moderate” damage, the fire marshal said.

There were no injuries. “The occupant works nights, had just arrived home,” he said. A Good Samaritan passing by saw the smoke pouring out of the attic window, called 911, and knocked on the door to alert the occupant.

The occupant has family in town and will be staying with them.

Firefighers were successful in rescuing the pet pit bull dog from the home.