Reign of fire, hail of bullets
Cause of home fire, explosion still under investigation

Fire Investigators are still looking into what might have caused an explosion and two-alarm fire inside a private Lake Havasu City residence Thursday morning.

Firefighters responded to numerous calls to 911 of an explosion in the garage of a home located in the 2500 block of Avalon Lane.

First responders arrived on the scene shortly after 8 a.m. to find heavy fire in the home’s garage and attic.

Two children and a babysitter were inside the home at the time of the explosion. Lake Havasu City Police escorted the occupants from the home without injury, Fire Marshal Chip Shilosky said.

911 callers reported seeing fire inside the garage area and garage windows and doors being blown out.

Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within about 30 minutes, and the homeowner was notified.

Fire crews remained on the scene for an additional three and a half hours, conducting salvage control and addressing hot spots still smoldering from within the walls of the home. Shilosky said this may have been caused by bad insulation, but it is not yet known.

The cause of the fire was unknown late Thursday, but Fire Investigators speculate it may have originated in the home’s attic.

“It’s looking like an electrical fire that started in the attic area,” Shilosky said.

Shilosky said the occupants told firefighters they had smelled smoke but thought it was coming from a brushfire outside the home.

A secondary explosion ignited by ammunition and gunpowder stored in the garage, forced firefighters to take extra precaution. Shilosky reported the homeowner stored the ammunition in the garage as a hobby reloader. A firefighter standing nearby when the ammunition ignited was struck in the helmet by a stray bullet but was not injured. Shilosky said one of the engines on the scene was also hit, but there was no major damage.

Shilosky said the ammunition and gunpowder likely contributed to the explosion, but were not the initial cause.

“It was most likely the typical normal combustibles in the garage,” he said.

He also stated that the homeowner was within all legal requirements for the storage of the ammunition and gunpowder.

The fire was so large seven engine companies; one truck company, support vehicles and a Battalion Chief were called to the scene, Shilosky said. Off-duty firefighters had to be called in to service reserve engines for the rest of the city.

Fire Investigators estimated the damage to the home at around $225,000, mostly to the garage area. Shilosky said this is just an initial estimation or contents and structure. The homeowner’s insurance company could provide a higher figure for the property loss.

Shilosky said the fire did not spread outside of the residence.

“There was no adjoining property or structure damage,” he said. “The homeowner is just glad that nobody was hurt.”

You may contact the reporter at twaggoner@havasunews.com.