A Bunsen burner used to thaw frozen water pipes may have caused fire that heavily damaged a home in rural Clinton, Iowa.
The fire was reported just before 11:30 a.m. Thursday, January 8, 2015 at a house in the 4400 block of Highway 135 in Clinton.
Firefighters found flames visible on one side of the house. A man who lived there, and his dog, escaped without injury.
The man “indicated that he was attempting to use a Bunsen burner to thaw out some frozen water pipes in his cellar when he noticed flames in his kitchen,” said Clinton County Sheriff Rick Lincoln.
Firefighters from Andover, Low Moor and Goos Lake volunteer fire departments handled the fire.
Highway 136 was briefly closed to traffic because of emergency vehicles parked on the road.
Damage to the house was estimated between $25,000 and $30,000, Sheriff Lincoln said.
