Press Release
May 10, 2021
At 6:10 AM Monday May 10, 2021 the Burlington Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 1912 Whittier Street in Burlington. Firefighters arrived 4 minutes later to find smoke showing from the eaves of the house. Firefighters were able to locate and extinguish a fire within the floor joists of the second floor.
The single-family home, owned and occupied by James and Nicole Flaherty, sustained an estimated $15,000 in damages to the structure and $10,000 in damages to contents. The house is insured. The fire was discovered by a passerby noticing smoke coming from the exterior roof line of the house. The house did have working smoke alarms, but there wasn’t enough smoke inside the house to activate them. There were no injuries. Firefighters cleared the scene at 8:08 AM.
The fire started in electrical wiring in an older part of the home and is considered accidental.
At 8:40 AM firefighters returned to the house due to smoke reappearing. Firefighters removed some additional wall material and found some insulation smoldering in an exterior wall.
Eleven Burlington firefighters responded to the initial call and were assisted by two West Burlington firefighters responding on automatic aid. Burlington Police and Alliant Energy also assisted at the scene. Firefighters cleared the scene at 9:45 AM. There were no injuries.
Mark Crooks
Fire Marshal