Northwest Fresno house fire displaces family of eight

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An electrical fire forced a family of eight out of their home in northwest Fresno Sunday morning.

Smoke was still coming from the home about 30 minutes after the fire started, but by then everybody had gotten out of the house safely and firefighters had doused most of the flames.

Investigators say the fire started in the attic because an electrical circuit overloaded and it might have been preventable.

"If your breakers are tripping, they're tripping for a reason, don't just go out and reset them," Tim Fulmer with the Fresno Fire Department said. "Call a certified electrician to come out and check that before you do end up having a fire like this family had."

A couple and their six children lived in the home. The mother told Action News they reported breaker problems to the landlord, but nothing got fixed.

Firefighters said they'd get the Red Cross to help the family get somewhere to stay for now.

They said just the living room was badly damaged because they had to go through the ceiling to put out the fire in the attic.