The Herald-News - News Story

    Virginia Stooksbury of Belmont Farms Road, Dayton, knew something was wrong early Tuesday morning when two of her house lights wouldn't turn off and she saw drips of water escaping the dome light fixtures.
    According to Dayton Fire Department investigator Bo Kaylor, Stooksbury woke up at about 3 a.m. and saw that her hallway and bathroom lights had suddenly illuminated. Upon further inspection, she saw that water was accumulating in the light fixture and was dripping onto the floor. Stooksbury was unable to turn the lights off, so she called her son, who arrived at about 3:30 a.m., Kaylor said.
    Shortly after her son arrived, Stooksbury saw smoke and called 9-1-1. At about 4 a.m., 15 firefighters responded to the call.
    According to Dayton Fire Department Captain Adam McRorie, the firefighters could see no sign of fire from the outside of the one-story house.
    When they entered the house, however, they discovered flames in the attic. Kaylor said the light fixtures were three-fourths full of water when the firefighters inspected them.
    The firefighters worked to control the fire and had it extinguished in just over an hour's time, according to the incident report.
    Kaylor said much of the hour was spent trying to protect Stooksbury's furniture from damage. In the end, the fire caused minimal damage to most of the house, he said.
    The attic, however, suffered significant damage, according to Fire Chief Chuck Suttles.
Based on Kaylor's investigation, the fire was caused by a water line break, which shorted out the lights in the hallway and bathroom. The electrical short in-turn melted the protective covering on wires running along the wooden ceiling rafters. Eventually, the rafters smoldered and ignited.
    "There was no way she could have prevented it," Kaylor said. "I asked if she had a smoke alarm, and she did, but there wasn't enough smoke to set it off."
    Stooksbury is currently staying with her son and his wife until she can get the necessary repairs to her home, said Kaylor.
    Michelle Friesen can be reached at michelle.friesen@rheaheraldnews.com