The fire began on Thursday, Feb. 1 just before 6:45 p.m. at a Mount Vernon residence on South 10th Avenue, city officials announced.
Arriving firefighters soon found that the blaze had begun in the home's basement toward the front of the residence and began extinguishing it. Luckily, all of the home's occupants had been able to safely get out before fire crews arrived.
Crews then performed a search of the home to confirm that the blaze had not spread and successfully rescued all of the home's pets, including two cats, a dog, and a rabbit, officials said.
Although the fire was put out by just after 7:15 p.m., the blaze caused enough damage to force the home's eight occupants to temporarily relocate.
After an investigation, the cause of the fire was determined to be electrical. However, the investigation is still ongoing to determine the specific cause, officials said.
The Mount Vernon Fire Department used the incident as an example to urge residents to take precautions to avoid electrical fires.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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