MURRAY – Around 8:15 p.m. this evening, the Murray Fire Department responded to a house fire on North 19th Street, which resulted in the closure of College Farm Road for approximately two hours. Assistant Fire Chief Eric Phelps was present at the scene and confirmed this was the second call the MFD received about the home today.
Firefighters thought they had extinguished the initial fire, presumably caused by a space heater. The tenants were not home when the first fire started, but the landlord was notified.
Although it was not completely destroyed, the first fire left the home untenable. A neighbor said that, during the first fire, flames were shooting out of the gable vent on the south end of the home.
Gas and electricity services to the home were disconnected earlier in the day, so there were no delays in fighting the fire the second time.
Phelps explained that it is not common for a structure to reignite, but it does happen more often in homes where people hoard. He reported chest-high clutter throughout the home with pathways to navigate through the rooms.
After taming the re-ignited flames, firefighters eventually found the culprit – a memory foam mattress that had previously not been visible. Phelps likened the fire potential of memory foam to diesel. After the mattress was removed, they were able to successfully extinguish the fire.
As of 10:20 p.m., College Farm Road is open to traffic.
