BREAKING NEWS: Firefighters battle Taft Street blaze
Humboldt firefighters battled heavy smoke in an electrical fire at 610 Taft St. S. Thursday evening. The were called at about 8:20 p.m. and were on the scene for 1 hour and 40 minutes. There were no injuries. One resident was removed by police before firefighters arrived. Humboldt Independent photo by Kent Thompson.
By Kent Thompson
The Humboldt Fire Department, Humboldt Police and EMS emergency personnel were paged to 610 Taft St. S. Thursday night around 8:20 p.m. for a report of smoke and what was determined to be an electrical fire.
There was one unidentified elderly gentleman in the home in a wheelchair. He was quickly removed from the building by police and was checked by medical personnel at the scene, but he refused to be transported to the hospital, it was reported.
Duane Zeller, owner of Hoag’s Plumbing and Heating, said he received a call at 8:01 p.m. reporting a smoking fuse box. Zeller said he pulled the electrical meter and saw a small fire in the basement and dumped the contents of a fire extinguisher on it, then called police.
“We have an electrical fire here from the service line coming into the house. The fire got into the wall and into the crawl space and also into the floor. Right now we’ve got everything under control and are just checking for any hot spots,” Humboldt Fire Chief Jim Gronbach reported at 9:30 p.m.
There was fire and smoke in the basement, in the main floor of the single-story home, in the crawl space and in the walls, Gronbach reported.
“We’re not sure of the cause of the electrical fire at this time,” Gronbach reported at the scene.
Regarding damage, Gronbach said it is a little early to assess. “From what I can see, it’s not a total loss, but probably around $10,000 damage,” the chief said.
Humboldt Fire Department and Rescue had three trucks and about 15 firefighters on the scene. The firefighters went through several air packs in fighting the blaze.
The firefighters returned to the station about 10 p.m. Thursday night.
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