AN ACCIDENTAL electrical fire at an outdoor plug is responsible for burning the roof off a house at 3532 Cory Drive last weekend.
That's the official word from Terrace fire chief John Klie late this afternoon.
"They had an outdoor plug like many houses do. They were smoking fish and the smoker was plugged into it and there didn't seem to be any damage done to the smoker itself," he said, adding the fire damage was at the plug in.
Although people can overload their electrical sockets by plugging in too many things at once, that was not the case here, he said.
"Little smokers don't take that much [power]," said Klie, adding that whether there was wear and tear to the socket or it was old age that led to the fire wasn't known.
The city fire department received several calls about the blaze at about 3:40 p.m. July 14, and 15 firefighters arrived in six minutes, Klie said earlier today.
"There were multiple calls so the guys knew it was a big fire," said Klie, adding flames burned up into the rafters and attic space.
A mother and child got out of their home safely, he added.