Winter is fire season in this area and two homes…one in Burlington and the other in Ft. Madison…paid the price last last week.
About 10:45 Friday morning some faulty wiring in the attic ignited a blaze at 417 34th Street in Ft. Madison. No one at the Angelo Lozano house was hurt, but flame damage was estimated at $10,000 to the kitchen & bedroom, while the rest of the house sustained smoke damage.
A few minutes before 7 Friday night, Burlington firefighters were dispatched to an address on Burlington Avenue for a kitchen fire, but were then told they had been given the wrong address…so they headed to 1033 Brooks Street. In spite of the faulty information, a crew got to the correct scene in six minutes and arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the front door and flames coming out a window near the rear of the one-story, wood-frame house.
Owner Mary Lou Banks was home at the time, but managed to get two dogs and herself out safely. Her cat…however…died in the fire. Most of the flame damage was contained to the kitchen, but there is heat and smoke damage throughout. Fire Marshal Mark Crooks put a $25,000 estimate on the structure and $20,000 to its contents. The home is insured. (16 firefighters…13 from Burlington and three from West Burlington…combined forces to knock the blaze down.)
