Duplex fire in Springfield ruled accidental

Springfield firefighters battle a fire at a duplex in the 1700 block of Clay Street March 12, 2020. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Springfield firefighters battle a fire at a duplex in the 1700 block of Clay Street March 12, 2020. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

A fire at a vacant two-story duplex on Thursday evening has been ruled as accidental, Springfield Fire Chief Brian Miller said.

The Springfield Fire/Rescue Division was dispatched at 5:13 p.m. to a vacant duplex fire on the 1700 block of Clay Street.

When fire crews arrived, smoke was pouring out of all the windows, Springfield Fire Battalion Chief Capt. Matt Davis said.

“The fire started in the left half or south half and traveled to the north half,” Miller said. “It was hidden in a lot of the void spaces between the floor and the ceiling and in the walls, but we kept it out of the main attic and it didn’t burn the roof off.”

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Miller explained that not letting a fire burn through the roof of a structure is always their goal.

While fire crews controlled the fire, Clay Street was closed.

The fire was controlled “pretty quickly” and without any injuries, Miller said.

There are four causes of a fire - accidental, nature, purposeful, and undetermined.

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“Our investigator said he believed it was accidental as a result of the electric service,” Miller said. “The fire is believed to have started in the breaker panel.”

Miller explained that when a fire starts, some of the evidence of where it started will burn away. Fire crews look for the area that is most burned.

The most burned area in this case was “right where the main service came into the breaker panel,” Miller said.

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