(Horicon) A fire Thanksgiving night damaged a house in Horicon. Crews responded to 205 North Finch Street around 8:30pm after a neighbor saw flames and called 9-1-1. Fire Chief Jim Bandsma says upon arrival, the back porch was fully engulfed in flames and “going good.” He says they were fortunate to get the fire knocked down before it spread to the rest of the house, which needed to be ventilated but is otherwise inhabitable. The home is owned by Edwin Knop. The residents chose to stay with nearby family overnight. There were no injuries. Bandsma says the cause is “suspected to be related to the use of smoking materials.” Firefighters were on scene for three hours and returned again Friday morning because of a minor flare-up between boards at the end of the deck. It was discovered the home did not have working smoke detectors. Bandsma says in addition to making sure your detectors have fresh batteries, you should also make sure the batteries are loaded inside the units. Damage is estimated at $12-thousand dollars.
