Fire causes minor damage to home

July 06--An electrical fire caused minor damage to a house Friday morning in the 9200 block of Bethel Road, fire officials said.

No one was injured.

While the cause of the fire was under investigation Friday afternoon, homeowner Mickey Knight said he believed the fire was caused by a faulty cable box in the home. Smoke started coming from the cable box Thursday, and the Knights called their cable provider to come and check the box but received no response, Knight said.

His wife unplugged the box, but on Friday, smoke started coming from the same area again and eventually caught fire, Knight said. Knight's wife was home when the fire started, he said.

"This could have been prevented," Knight said.

Battalion Chief Doug Wallick said the cable box appears to be what caused the fire, but the investigation had not been completed.

"The cause is going to be accidental," Wallick said. "How the homeowner and the insurance companies work it out is going to be up to them."

At Knight's request, Wallick asked for a representative of the cable company to come to the house Friday, he said.

The house lost power and therefore the family would not be able to stay there until power is restored, Wallick said Friday.

First responders received the call for smoke coming from near an electrical box at the house, and when they responded they contained the fire to the exterior of the building within five minutes, Wallick said. There was some smoke damage in the attic, Wallick said.

Follow Allen Etzler on Twitter: @AllenWEtzler.

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