House fire leaves Austin family without a home
Jun. 12—AUSTIN — An afternoon blaze on Thursday has left an Austin family without a home.
Austin Fire Chief Jim McCoy said fire crews responded to a 4:30 p.m. Thursday call regarding a structure fire in the 600 block of 11th Street Northwest, arriving a few minutes later to find a home ablaze and a family — one adult and five children — gathered outside watching their house burn. No one was injured in the blaze.
The fire crews were also able to remove two cats from the home, he said.
While the fire was knocked down in a few minutes, McCoy said the fire still did about $50,000 in damage, including fire damage to a bedroom and the living room, and smoke damage throughout the home.
The fire started when one of the children in the home set fire to some clothes in a bedroom, McCoy said.
"We're lucky it's not any worse than it was," McCoy said. "Parents need to keep lighters, cigarettes and matches out of reach of children."
The American Red Cross is helping the family with temporary shelter while they look for a new home, McCoy said.
