Fireplace ashes blamed for fire that heavily damages Lee’s Summit house
Ashes from a fireplace placed in the trash apparently started a fire early Monday that heavily damaged a Lee’s Summit house, officials said.
The family escaped from the burning house after being awakened by a smoke alarm and noises coming from the garage.
They had replaced the smoke alarm batteries over the weekend.
The fire was discovered about 1:25 a.m. in the garage of the house in the 3600 block of Northwest Basswood Drive.
By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread and to the front of the two-story house.
Firefighters stopped the fire’s spread and brought it under control by 2:30 a.m. Firefighters remained at the house for several hours, extinguishing smoldering fires in concealed spaces around the second-floor bedrooms and attic.
The fire caused heavy damage to the house and vehicles in the garage.
Robert A. Cronkleton, bcronkleton@kcstar.com
This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Fireplace ashes blamed for fire that heavily damages Lee’s Summit house."