Firefighters Battle Blaze

A spilled bottle of acetone caused a basement fire in a home at the corner of Cedar and Olive avenues in Horsham Monday evening, Fire Marshal George Fida said. 

No one was injured in the fire, which Horsham Fire Chief Tim Flanagan said broke out at 6:35 p.m. and was brought under control 20 minutes later. Crews stayed on hand for an hour and a half after that to ensure the fire was completely out, Flanagan said. 

Fida said the homeowner had used acetone, a highly flammable liquid, to clean a train set. His young son had accidentally knocked the bottle over, spilling its contents on the floor, as well as on his clothes. In the time it took the father to take his son upstairs to change clothes, Fida said the basement heater kicked on and "ignited the fumes."

"He had a fire extinguisher," Fida said. "He almost completely extinguished the fire before the fire department got there."

Despite his fast action,  the home is uninhabitable, at least for the time being, Flanagan said. The dwelling sustained smoke and water damage, he said and firefighters had to break some of the windows to battle the blaze. 

Plus, as a precautionary measure, Fida said crews shut off the home's electric and gas supply. 

"I don't suspect they'll be out long," Fida said. "The actual fire damage was minimal."