Electrical fire fills students' home with smoke, damages basement

An electrical fire damaged the basement of a student residence south of campus. \nFire and smoke filled the basement of a house on Second and Henderson streets where five students lived. None of the students were injured, but major wiring damage was done to the basement area, said Terry Williams, battalion chief for the Bloomington Fire Department.\nAccording to various reports, either three or four people were in the house when the breaker box overloaded and burnt the connected wiring. Those people were safely outside of the house when BFD arrived on the scene at about 2 p.m. Firefighters were only able to proceed into the basement entrance after a technician cut the service line to the house, shutting down the electricity, Williams said. \nFirefighters removed the basement door, which was on fire, and entered the smoke-filled kitchen area directly inside. Williams said BFD was not exactly sure what caused the fire beyond bad electrical wiring, but it wasn't the fault of the residents. He said it was probably a case of "old wiring in an older house." \nResidents are currently safe and are staying at a motel for a few days, Williams said. The basement sustained major wire damage and minor wall and ceiling damage, in addition to a burnt door, he said.