ELECTIRCAL SHORT IN BOX FAN BLAIMED FOR STARTING FIRE IN JACKSON HOME

JACKSON -- Firefighters believe an electrical short in a box fan started a fire early Sunday in the basement of a home at 1616 Cedar Street.

A man sleeping in an upstairs bedroom was awakened at about 1:50 a.m. by a smoke detector. He escaped through a bedroom window without injury, said Jackson Fire Department Assistant Chief Randy Welker.

"The man told us that he was pretty sure that if the fire alarm hadn't awakened him, he wouldn't have gotten out of there," Welker said.

The fire started in a closet off a basement bedroom, apparently the result of an electrical malfunction, Welker said.

The bedroom had fire damage and the rest of the house was affected by the smoke, but the fire caused no serious structural damage to the home. Welker said the fire was contained primarily in the basement area.