RENO COUNTY—An attempt to thaw frozen water pipes led to a second Kansas house fire this week in Hutchinson.
Just after 10a.m. Tuesday, fire crews were dispatched to 222 East Avenue G in Hutchinson, according to Fire Battalion Chief Wiliam Lang.
Initial arriving crews found smoke showing from the attic and crawl space of a two-story residential home. Crews made an interior attack and controlled the fire within minutes of arrival. The fire was located in the crawl space of the structure. There is minor smoke damage to the main floor of the house and moderate damage to the crawl space.
The home was occupied at the time of call. The home owner advised that he was attempting to thaw frozen pipes in the crawl space with a heat source. The occupant exited the building but did suffer minor smoke inhalation. Reno County EMS examined him on scene, but he refused to be transported to the hospital.
This is the second fire in two days in which someone has attempted to thaw their frozen pipes. The Hutchinson Fire Department reminded residents to never use an open flame or high heat source (blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove) to thaw frozen pipes. If using an electric hair dryer or portable space heater to thaw pipes, keep away from flammable materials and never leave space heaters unattended. If you are unable to thaw the pipe, call a licensed plumber.
———————-
RENO COUNTY — An attempt to thaw frozen water pipes led to a Kansas house fire.
Just before 5p.m. Monday, fire crews were dispatched to a home in the 1500 Block of East 4th Street in Hutchinson for a structure fire, according to Battalion Chief Jeremy Unruh.
Initial arriving crews found heavy smoke showing from the attic of a single-story residential home. Crews made an aggressive interior attack and controlled the fire within minutes of arrival. The fire was located in a bathroom and had traveled to the attic. There was significant damage to both the bathroom and attic.
The home was occupied at the time of call. Maintenance personnel advised that they were thawing frozen pipes in the bathroom with a heat gun when items in their work area ignited. The occupants exited the building without injury.
Parts of East 4th Street were blocked for approximately 2 hours.
Hutchinson Fire would like to remind residents to never use an open flame or high heat source (blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove) to thaw frozen pipes.
If using an electric hair dryer or portable space heater to thaw pipes, keep away from flammable materials and never leave space heaters unattended. If you are unable to thaw the pipe, call a licensed plumber.