Unattended candles lead North Shore Fire to Glendale residence

GLENDALE (WITI) -- North Shore Fire officials on Thursday afternoon, September 5th battled a blaze in the 5200 block of N. Mohawk Avenue -- at a townhouse type residence.

Glendale police arrived on the scene first and reported heavy smoke coming from the second floor windows of the dispatched address.  The communications center advised responding fire units and the incident was upgraded to bring additional fire resources to the scene.

The first arriving fire units positioned one street to the West on Iroquois Avenue for better access to initiate an aggressive interior fire attack.

Crews encountered heavy smoke and heat conditions on the second floor of the home.  Crews were able to quickly knock the fire down to bring it under control.  An aggressive search of the structure revealed no occupants.

There were no injuries to any civilians or any of the personnel operating at the scene.

There is significant smoke damage to the entire home.  Additionally, the second floor suffered moderate fire damage throughout.  The damage estimate to the structure and contents is estimated at approximately $40,000.

The origin of fire appears to be in a second floor bedroom.  The cause was determined to be burning candles left unattended in the bedroom.  No occupants were home at the time of the fire.

Smoke detectors operated appropriately and were sounding on the arrival of the first fire companies on the scene.