Mexico home fire likely caused by overloaded electrial circuit
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Friday night house fire in Mexico, Missouri, was likely caused by an overloaded electrical circuit, according to a news release.
The fire led to heavy damage in the attic of a home in the 500 block of West Robinson Street, the Mexico Department of Public Safety wrote in the release. The call came in at about 11:35 p.m. Friday after the resident reported being awakened by smoke detectors.
The home had minor smoke damage throughout, in addition to the fire damage in the attic.
Mexico Public Safety said the fire was likely caused by multiple space heater plugged in and running that overloaded the electrical circuit.
MPSD Chief Brice Mesko told ABC 17 News the fire stirred up an important conversation around space heater safety, especially during the colder months of the year.
“Using an actual space heater is not something where you’re trying to convince people not to do,” Mesko said. “That being said, you should always use it in a way that it is supposed to be used and how it’s designed.”
Mesko said along with not overloading circuits in your home, it’s important to be mindful of using extension cords.
“Sometimes we’ll see people cover those cords up with rugs just so they don’t trip over them, or sometimes just throw household items on the cords or on the space heater and then that’s a fire risk,” Mesko said.
The Missouri Department of Fire Safety reports space heaters are responsible for about 80% of home heating fire deaths and about 1/3 of home heating fires.
Mesko said a safer option to keep your home warm this winter comes with some preparation ahead of time.
“Put plastic over windows and stuff like that to kind of help the heat stay trapped in,” Mesko said.
Modern heating options also have special safety features in place to prevent fire hazards, according to Mesko.
“Some of the newer space heaters have a little switch inside them or on them some way where if it falls over it shuts off,” Mesko said. “Some space heaters also have maybe a timer where after they’ve run for a while they shut off, or if they get too hot they shut off.”
The official cause of the fire Friday is still under investigation.