Electrical arc causes house fire – Muddy River News

QUINCY. Shortly before 6:00 p.m. Friday, the Quincy Fire Department responded to a call at 425 N. 14th Street for a fire in the basement.

When crews arrived on scene, it was reported that all occupants had exited the home and that the exterior of the home had experienced severe electrical arcing in the main electrical cable running from the meter to the home’s basement. The QFD Incident Commander then called on Ameren to respond.

Other first-arriving crews entered the basement and found no smoke or fire. A thorough search revealed no structural damage, and the damage was limited to the external electrical cable. There was no actual damage to the house itself, apart from the main electrical cable.

The hose was deployed as a precaution but was not used. The outer arc was traced and reduced
within five minutes. The main cable eventually burned out and there was no longer any power to it
the house remained electrically charged while attached to the brick. Ameren arrived and took off
meter, killing the power of the damaged cable. The following units that arrived were released from the scene.

The cause of the electric arc is unknown. This should be done by an electrical engineer
determination. The last fire brigade left the scene around 18:45. Residents were evicted due to lack of electricity in the building.

None of the civilians and firefighters were injured at the scene.