Space heater causes fire in duplex

I live in a rented duplex and yesterday was quite exciting. I had just gotten home from running some errands when I noticed that my neighbor’s smoke alarm was going off. I assumed they just overheated their lunch but several minutes later the alarm was still going off. Then I started smelling smoke. I went outside and that is when I noticed a lot of smoke coming from the windows and door frame. I tried ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door but my neighbor wasn’t home. So I called the fire department. The fire trucks came roaring in. They ended up breaking down the door to extinguish the fire. Apparently the cause of the fire was a space heater in the bedroom. Someone had thrown a shirt over it and it had caught fire. I am so glad that I was home. If not, my house might have burned up along with my neighbor’s. After all, we share a wall. The thing is that I don’t understand why they were even using a space heater. These duplexes have central heating and air. Of course the landlord showed up after the fire was extinguished. Most of the fire damage was contained to the bedroom. Even still, I am surprised at home much damage a simple space heater is capable of. My neighbors are going to have to replace their bed and a lot of clothing. The landlord is going to have to replace the carpeting and possibly one of the walls. I won’t be surprised if we get a notice saying not to use space heaters after this.

 

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