MANSFIELD- Around 4:45 p.m. on December 11, Leigha Seats drove by 126 Stewart Avenue and from the corner of her eye, she saw flames. She stated that she hurried over to the porch where she saw the flames and threw snow at the flames in an effort to put it out.
As Seats tried to put out the fire, it only grew larger. Her brother called the fire in to 911. Seats estimated the trucks arrived nearly five minutes later.
No one was home when the house caught flame.
Assistant Fire Chief Chris Speelman said, “The fire had been going for some time before we got here. We had fire showing right up toward the right side of the porch.”
According to the report, the fire started because an electrical wire “appeared to be burned off.”
Jessica Shaffner, the homeowner, stated that she had left the house approximately 40 minutes prior to the fire department’s arrival when she turned on a lamp and Christmas tree lights near the fire’s origin.
