Bedroom fire spreads, leaves family homeless

6/30/2002

A family of seven was left homeless yesterday after what started as a bedroom fire caused an estimated $10,000 damage to the house the family was renting at 1245 Hamilton St., authorities said.

Johnny and Tina Johnson and their five children, ranging in ages from 5 to 16, escaped unharmed by the time fire crews arrived about 12:25 p.m. The family members and two children who were visiting at the house were alerted to the fire by a smoke detector, Battalion Fire Chief Dennis Facer said.

Firefighters saw light smoke coming from the upper-floor bedroom windows of the 11/2-floor, wood-frame house, in which clothes and furniture were burning. They had the blaze under control in 20 minutes. By that time the blaze had spread up the walls to the attic and the roof. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Chief Facer said.

The Greater Toledo Area Chapter of the American Red Cross assisted the family with accommodations for the weekend. The two children who were visiting the family went to stay at a relative's home, Kristen Cajka, a Red Cross spokeswoman, said.