House in Trenton Catches Fire Despite Resident's Attempts to Extinguish

Trenton and Brownstown fire departments responded to a call about a house fire at about 4:10 p.m. Oct. 29 in the 3200 block of Ward Avenue.

When Trenton police and firefighters arrived the homeowner was attempting to extinguish the fire with a household fire extinguisher, according to Trenton Fire Marshall Jeff Evans.

Trenton and Brownstown firefighters put out the fire and kept it from spreading by containing it in the attic of the house, according to Evans.

Police and firefighters helped get the homeowner and his two dogs to safety. No one was injured in the fire.

The home owner told firefighters he started a fire in his fireplace and laid down. When he awoke he saw a haze around his living room and used a household fire extinguisher to put out the fire in the fireplace.

After extinguishing the fire in the fireplace the man realized the house was still aflame, gathered his two dogs and got out of the house as police arrived.

Evans said the fire might have been caused by a bird's nest in the chimney, where the flue penetrates the roof.

"He (the homeowner) had used the fireplace several times this year and it wasn’t anything that should have been out of the ordinary for him," Evans said. "If it was the birds nest, it just caught on fire. It had nothing to do with the fire in the fireplace."

The Trenton and Brownstown fire departments have an automatic aid agreement.

The homeowner asked that pictures not be taken of the house for insurance purposes.