Chief says wiring cause of house fire
MOUNT MORRIS – Faulty wiring is the most likely cause of a fire that destroyed a Mount Morris Fire Department paramedic’s home early Jan. 24.
“We’ve determined that the most probable cause was a heat tape used to keep pipes from freezing, or the wiring feeding the heat tape,” Mount Morris Fire Chief Rob Hough said Tuesday.
An agent from the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the investigation.
Owner Bobbi Kump and her three children, Adam, 17, Kaitlin, 14, and Seth, 11, lost all their possessions and Vixen, their German shepherd, in the fire that was reported by a neighbor around 2:40 a.m.
No one was injured: Kump was at work and the children were staying with a nearby relative that night.
The home was insured, and an account has been set up at Union Savings Bank, 2 W. Main St., Mount Morris, for the family. Make checks payable to Bobbi Kump Benefit.
Clothing, food, school supplies, toys and other items are being accepted at the Mount Morris Firehouse, 15 E. Center St.
For a list of clothing sizes, go to www.mountmorrisfire.com, the fire department’s Web site.
