A fire started by an unattended blow torch that was used to “deter mosquitoes” at a triplex on East 25th Street near South Park Avenue displaced seven people, three of whom are children, said Capt. Barrett Baker, a fire department spokesman, in a news release.
Tenants in all three units were evacuated and no one was injured, he said. Red Cross responded to the triplex to help three men who are 21, 37 and 68 years old. A woman, 24, with her three children were also displaced but Baker said they did not require assistance.
Two male tenants in the triplex used a torch to get rid of mosquitoes in the backyard, he said. They then went inside and forgot. Soon after, the tenants heard noises originating from the backyard. When they went outside to check, there was a “wall of fire."
The fire spread to the attic and caused smoke and fire damage in adjacent units.
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Eight fire units and 21 firefighters arrived on scene at 2:30 p.m., and controlled the fire within 23 minutes, Baker said.
