PARK CITY, Kan. — Firefighters confirm that lightning sparked an attic fire in Park City.
People living in the 6900 block of North Grove smelled smoke coming from their home around 10:30 Sunday night. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found smoke and flames coming from the roof. The residents — a man, woman, infant and dog — were able to escape the home unharmed.
“Crews made an interior attack on the fire and found the attic was full of fire,” said Division Chief Carl Cox with the Sedgwick County Fire Department.
Cox said the department was able to extinguish the flames quickly with the help of a fire-fighting foam.
“It makes the water more effective,” he said. “The fire will actually coat the burning material and help smother the fire as well as cool it.”
NEW FOAM HELPS TACKLE FIRES
Sedgwick County has used foam for about 10 years. However, this past month, the department has expanded the use of the foam to every station in the county. They need special pumps to enable its use.
“So every time that we go on a fire, we use it. It helps us to limit the amount of water that we have to use,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Hinkle, Jr. “In a sense for us, it saves our taxpayers money in the long run because they reap some savings because don’t have as much damage to their property”
Damage is estimated at a minimum of $30,000, and it mostly contained to the attic. Investigators say the home will eventually be liveable.