Monday, Jan. 05, 2009

Fire damages southwest Modesto home

12 people temporarily without home

Twelve people, including four children, are homeless after an electrical fire in a west Modesto attic Sunday morning, officials said.

The Stanislaus County chapter of the American Red Cross helped the victims with shelter, said Battalion Chief Sean Slamon of the Modesto Fire Department.

Firefighters responded to a small attic fire in the 200 block of Spencer Avenue about 7:30 a.m. The 17 firefighters contained it quickly, Slamon said, to a 4-square-foot space in the attic.

No one was injured, but the fire caused about $10,000 worth of damage and required that electricity be turned off in the home, he said.

The home apparently had been subdivided for several families, Slamon said.