Early morning fire sends man to hospital for smoke
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on August 21, 2007 1:46 PM
A fire caused about $24,000 in damage to a home at 210 Workman St. early today and sent a man to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
City firefighters responded to the emergency call about 7 a.m. and found the fire in the living room. All of the occupants had already gotten outside, but Jamoz McMillan, who had attempted to re-enter the building to extinguish the fire, was found in the back yard having trouble breathing.
He was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Firefighters had the fire under control within 15 minutes, said Assistant Fire Chief Eric Lancaster, who added that investigators believe the fire started near a chair in the living room, where a fan that had been propped up against the chair had an electrical short.
A resident told firefighters that she was asleep on the floor near the chair when she was awakened by the heat from the growing fire. She alerted the other people in the house, and all got outside.
Officials with the Red Cross were helping the family. The house was valued at $40,000. Of the estimated damage total, $6,000 was to the contents and the rest to the structure, according to the department's report.