San Angelo Fire Marshal’s Office Provides Update on Shelton Street Fire

On Monday, just before noon, San Angelo firefighters went out to battle the flames that started at 2105 Shelton St.

At the time, Assistant Chief of Operations Scott Farris with SAFD said the fire may have started in the center of the home based on the heavy smoke.

Today, Karla Steppe with the Fire Marshal’s Office provided an update on her investigation. She said, based on the burn patterns of the appliances and of the structure, and based on interviews, the cause of the fire was a heat source that sat too close to combustible items.

“They had an electric space heater, and the fire started in the vicinity of the space heater,” Steppe said. “Most likely the first items ignited were toilet paper, wash cloths, towels and all that.”

The fire also originated in the bathroom, Steppe said. From there, it then proceeded up to the attic.

“There were also fiberglass shower inserts in the bathroom, and that contributed heavily to the fire. It caused the fire to vent through the ceiling and the attic,” Steppe explained.

She said the process happened quickly and opened the oxygen to the fire, and that’s why it was smoking so bad.

The house, Steppe said, in her opinion, is a complete loss, but she has to meet with adjusters out at the property today to discuss this more.

Steppe added that the fire damage was in the attic, in the bathroom, the bedroom, the hallway and the kitchen. The rest of the house sustained severe heat smoke and water damage, so, structurally, there’s a small portion of the house that’s sound overall; however, by the time everything gets ripped out that has smoke, heat, and water damage, repairs are going to be extensive. She said contractors would have to gut the whole house, and when doing repairs, any elements that have fire damage will need to be replaced.

Steppe noted that the residence has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a front room and a den in the back of the home. Luckily, the family did have insurance.

The investigator added that during her investigation, the smoke detectors were still activating, which she spoke highly of. She said it’s important for families to have detectors working and to maintain them properly as this family did.

Also, with space heaters, which was the cause of the fire, Steppe said people should always give at least three feet of space between it and other items because the radiant heat can ignite any combustible items, as it did in this case. She also said many people don’t realize there has to be three feet of clearance around gas appliances, including water heaters.