Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis firefighters climb a ladder to reach the roof at a house fire Wednesday afternoon on Wallace Street.
CLOVIS — It's cold outside and that means it's house fire season.
Clovis firefighters were called to residential fires on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening.
While no injuries were reported, both fires caused damage and major problems for property owners.
On Thursday, firefighters were called to a shed fire near 8th and Edwards streets in Clovis about 5:15 p.m. A neighbor said she reported the fire a few minutes earlier after seeing smoke from the small abandoned white building next to her house.
Two fire trucks and an ambulance were on scene for close to an hour, with the intersection on 8th Street blocked off by police cruisers between Edward and Davis streets.
A large plume of smoke from the fire was visible in downtown Clovis before responders extinguished the blaze.
The entrance to the building appeared scorched as firefighters wrapped up but the building stayed intact.
"It's just an abandoned, vacant building and it was most likely arson," said Battalion Chief Dale Hand. "There's no utilities to the building."
The official cause of the fire is still under investigation, Hand added. Firefighters have responded to a report of a fire at the same location at least once before in the past year.
On Wednesday, firefighters responded to an attic fire at 1110 N. Wallace St. in Clovis. It was under control in about 45 minutes, Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen said.
Nolen said there was possibly insulation burning in the attic and the fire was believed to be electrical in nature, but the cause remains under investigation.
Nolen said he was not sure how extensive the damage was but the utilities have been shut off due to the fire and the house cannot be occupied.
Nolen said the house won't be inhabitable again until after the investigation is complete and the house has been determined to be up to code.
Nolen said he did not know how many people lived in the house or where they will stay in the meantime, but an offer of assistance from the Red Cross was declined.
Nolen said there are always more fire hazards when the weather turns colder.
"All the heaters get turned on, the electric heaters are running more of the time and we have more fires," he said.
Nolen advised those especially with electric heaters to pay attention and make sure the cords do not get hot, as well as keeping children away from heaters.
