Local fire takes house
GAS — The odor Joe Beaman got a whiff of early Wednesday afternoon left no doubt of what was occurring.
A fire had started in the attic of father Kenneth Beaman’s home, at the north end of Main Street, and soon was raging throughout the attic, shooting flames and black smoke high above the two-story structure.
His father was out of town when the fire unfolded.
“I guess it must have been some bad wiring,” Beaman said. “I think it started around a ceiling fan, but the fan wasn’t on at the time.
“My girlfriend (Tawenda Ramsey) and I was were watching TV when we smelled the smoke,” he said.
They called 911, which led rural fire district trucks and Iola firefighters, as well as Allen County Volunteers, to respond.
Firefighters extinguished flames coming through the ceiling — indoors and on a front porch — and then poured water on the blaze, eventually knocking it down.
Beaman told Allen County officers, who were on scene to provide security, that he and his friend always went outdoors to smoke, discounting the possibility hot ashes might have played a role in the fire.
Beaman and Ramsey were not injured. Damage to the house was substantial.
