Weekend Fire Strikes Lenox Porch, House Unscathed

An early-morning fire Sunday struck a Lenox Avenue porch, but the house itself sustained minor damage.

Fire Chief James Bombace said Monday that oily rags discarded in a trashcan caused the fire. In the contained receptacle, heat emanating from the rags caught fire and spread to a wooden porch and its roof.

A resident at 120 Lenox Ave. heard noise, noticed the blaze and called the fire department. Crews first responded to three-alarm fire at 4:45 a.m. April 25, Bombace said.

"It was fortunate, because it never reached the house," Bombace said. "It was an exterior operation, and we were able to knock it down relatively quickly."

No one sustained any injuries, and the house's interior saw minor smoke damage.

Fire officials contained the blaze and the house within 90 minutes, he said. As the residents are renovating their kitchen, responding fire fighters spent most of the time ensuring that wooden supplies on the house's side weren't on fire.

Although raining at the time, the trashcan was under the porch's roof and away from the precipitation. Bombace said had it been out from cover, the fire probably wouldn't have occurred.

A preventative move, Bombace said the third alarm was needed to call in off-duty fire fighters in case another incident occurred elsewhere.