Today's News-Herald : News : Fire burns home : Havasunews.com : Serving Lake Havasu City & The Lower Colorado River Area

from archives: News

Printable Version | |

Comment (6 comment(s)) |

Rate |

Text Size

L.J. Frink/News-Herald Photos Lake Havasu City Firefighter Luther Smith Jr., right, aims a stream of water through the front door as flames come through the roof at a house fire on Sturgeon Drive late Saturday night. Fellow firefighter Lonnie Pope and an unidentified firefighter, at far left, spray water into the garage area at the height of the blaze that gutted the single-family house.

Fire burns home
Causes $325,000 in damage

Staff Reports
Sunday, January 11, 2009 9:14 PM MST

Lake Havasu City firefighters responding to a late night house fire Saturday arrived to find the roof of the home engulfed in flames and smoke.

The Lake Havasu City Fire Department Dispatch Center received numerous calls Saturday around 11:30 p.m. of a house fire in the 1100 block of Sturgeon Drive.

First units with engine Truck 1 immediately noticed fire and smoke rising from the roof of the single-family residential home and quickly worked to keep the fire from spreading, electing to use a defensive tactic to prevent the fire from extending to nearby homes.

Don Mesisca, special teams technical rescue coordinator with the Lake Havasu City Fire Department said the roof did eventually collapse on the home.

No one was home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Fire crews first suspected the fire may have spread to the roof of the home next door. Their suspicions proved to be unfounded. Crews did spray water on the adjacent home as a precautionary measure. Occupants of the nearby home were able to escape without injury.

Residents of the Lake Hills Inn, a nursing home across the street from the damaged home, were moved to the opposite end of the building, due to heavy smoke blowing from the fire towards the nursing home.

Five Engine companies, one Ladder Company and a Battalion Chief were on-hand as crews brought the fire under control within 51 minutes.

Crews did stay on the scene an additional three hours mopping up hot spots and overhauling the home structure.

The home suffered heavy damages that are estimated to be around $325,000.

The owners of the home have been notified.

Fire crews were out Sunday cleaning up debris from the home. Mesisca said investigators are still uncertain what may have caused the fire, and it is still under investigation. He noted with the roof collapse investigators would have to dig under the roof to help determine the cause. More information is expected Monday.

Article Rating

Reader Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of havasunews.com.

Reader Comments

cal/hav wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:45 PM:

" It's amazing how fast it adds up. I had a loss at my Havasu house a couple of years back from a broken pipe. Not Fire just water damage. By the time the contractors were done, the furniture replaces, Vanities, Kitchen Cabinets etc. It was nearly $40,000. It is REALLY important to have an inventory of what you have. Especially for a fire where many of the contents burn up. Here is an amazing example. http://www.roughtonnelson.co.nz/asset/pdf/valuation_guide.pdf "

joec wrote on Jan 19, 2009 4:00 PM:

" "cal/hav" LOL, upper scale true, contents 150k I HIGHLY doubt it(maybe though).
"mommyOf4" I missed the part about the contents of the garage "The home suffered heavy damages that are estimated to be around $325,000"

I wonder how the insurance company would look at it. Would they be forced to payoff an overvalued home or just pay out what is necessary to rebuild it. They calculate value with their own methods don't they? "

cal/hav wrote on Jan 16, 2009 9:00 PM:

" $160,000. Come on Not all Havsuians Shop at St Vincent de Paul and Walmart. This place looks pretty nice doesn't look like your typical Havasu Home. Contents alone were probably 150K. "

mommyOf4 wrote on Jan 15, 2009 4:48 PM:

" Where've ya been living joec? You can rebuild a new home, completely furnish it, (tv's computers and all) clothes, kitchen, not to mention the cars in the garage? All for for $160,ooo, my very old. empty house cost that much, six years ago. "

joec wrote on Jan 12, 2009 3:28 PM:

" "The home suffered heavy damages that are estimated to be around $325,000." I bet it could be rebuilt for half that. "

GnJ2000 wrote on Jan 12, 2009 9:08 AM:

" How horrible. I am glad no one was inside. What an awful mess to come home to, especially in these times of financial hardship. Thank goodness for homeowner's insurance. "

Comment Rules

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone and we reserve the right to withhold or remove any comment from publication.

Do not post:
    * Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
    * Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
    * Personal attacks, insults or threats.
    * The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
    * Comments unrelated to the story.

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in havasunews.com's story comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of Today's News Herald. Today's News Herald provides an interactive computer service and does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Today's News Herald spokespersons.

Thank you for your comments!