Firefighters battle a blaze in the Fox Hollow subdivision Thursday.
“I was at work and my neighbor called me and said my house was on fire,” said Regina Davis, who lives at 300 Woodland Crest Boulevard with her husband, Curtis, and three daughters, Karyne, Jasmine and Bethany.
Davis said at first she was concerned that her daughter was in the house, however Karyne had gone with Curtis to take the family’s dog to the vet.
“We first received the call that it was unknown if anyone was in the house,” said Sgt. Don Newton, public information officer for the Pell City Police Department.
Newton said when officers arrived at the scene they were told no one was in the house.
“Then the mother arrived and she said one of her daughters was home sick from school,” he said. “We immediately tried to gain entrance into the house, and were doing all we could to aid the firefighters as they arrived. When we got the door open, the mother had gotten in contact with her husband and their daughter was with him.”
Newton said he is very thankful no one was in the house.
“I had just left the house to pick up my daughter and take our dog to the vet,” Curtis Davis said. “I had been gone about 5-10 minutes when my wife called saying the house was on fire. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Pell City Fire Chief Patrick Draper said firefighters responded to the call at about 11:30 a.m. and had the fire under control within 10 minutes.
“The fire was contained to the front room,” he said. “There is medium-to-heavy smoke damage throughout the rest of the house, but minimal heat and water damage.”
Draper said the cause of the fire appears to be electrical, however the fire is still under investigation at this time.
“I just don’t know where the fire would have started,” Regina Davis said. “We have space heaters and usually unplug them during the day, but we may have left one on.”
Regina Davis said the family, who has lived at the residence for two years, had been in contact with the builder regarding a possible electrical issue.
“When you turn the lights on, it would sometimes make a static sound,” she said. “But not all the time.”
Regina Davis said thankfully the family’s Christmas presents weren’t in the home, and the family has insurance.
Contact Elsie Hodnett at ehodnett@dailyhome.com.
