Space heater to blame for early morning fire in Racine

RACINE (WITI) -- A space heater is to blame for an electrical fire that broke out at a home on Taylor Avenue early Saturday morning, March 1st. Five people were displaced.

The fire broke out at a home in the 2000 block of Taylor Avenue, just before 4:30 a.m.

No one was injured, but the fire caused $10,000 in damage to the home, and an additional $5,000 to the home's contents.

On arrival to the scene, fire crews encountered heavy smoke and worked to extinguish fire on both the first floor and basement.

Fire officials say the fire started in a wall in the basement and traveled up in the wall to the kitchen above.

This ignited the kitchen cabinets.

Fire officials say the family's birds and two dogs were unharmed.

The cause of the fire is reported to be an electric space heater plugged into a receptacle fed by wires that were not the proper size.