The flames started in the attic of this house at McKinley and West around 11 a.m. Sunday morning. A captain at the scene said it appears rats or possums may have chewed through wiring and sparked an electrical fire.
Everyone made it out of the home safely, but firefighters had to destroy most of the attic to make sure they didn't miss any hot spots. "There's a lot of damage. It was electrical, it looks like the electrical went to the entire attic. The attic consists of two layers of plaster, it looks like chicken wire so we have to get chainsaws to take it all down," said Karey Wedemeyer, City of Fresno Fire Department.
Crews removed the family's belongings before going to work with those chainsaws. Investigators are also looking into why a smoke detector at the house did not go off.
Firefighters said this fire could have been deadly if it happened at night when the family was sleeping.
