Ephrata house fire under investigation

EPHRATA — An accidental fire damaged part of a home and killed a family dog on Basin Street Southwest in Ephrata Saturday.

The fire began in a bedroom of a single-wide manufactured home, Ephrata Fire Chief Jeremy Burns said Monday.

Three possible causes are being investigated.

An unattended lit cigarette, burning candle or faulty adapter cord could have caused the fire, he said.

More interviews were planned for Monday with a teenage boy who lives at the home.

No one was home during the fire and there were no reported injuries to the family, he said.

The only casualty was a pet brown Labrador retriever, Burns added.

The fire was called in by a neighbor who saw the smoke coming from the home.

Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading throughout the home and extinguished the flames within 10 minutes. They remained at the scene for about an hour soaking hot spots and investigating the cause.

Ephrata firefighters were assisted by personnel from Grant County Fire District 13, Burns said.