Smoldering Charcoal Blamed For Tulsa House Fire

Fire investigators think charcoal may have caused a house fire that heavily damaged a Tulsa home. The fire broke out at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday on North Louisville Avenue near Archer Street.

District Chief Bennie E. Herring of the Tulsa Fire Department said family members escaped safely after the back part of their house caught fire.

Hot charcoal had been placed in a trash can that was stored behind the house. Herring said the charcoal smoldered for hours then caught the trash can and house on fire.

Herring said it's the time of year when people doing a lot of grilling, and they need to be very careful in disposing of the charcoal.

"Let it go out on its own for a long time or put a lot of water on it. If you do put it in some kind of trash container, store it away from your structure.

"That's what caused this fire, and now they've lost a part of their home because of that."

Most of what burned was in the attic, but the first floor of the home was damaged by water.

Renovations to the house made it more difficult for fire crews to get to the part of the attic involved in flames, but they were able to confine it to the west end of the home, he said.

There were no injuries. The Red Cross arrived on scene to assist the family.

"Get a smoke detector if you can afford one, and if you can't, call the fire department and we'll put you one in," Chief Herring said.