Ephrata home severely damaged by fire

EPHRATA - Ephrata fire officials are uncertain what caused a two-story house to catch fire on E Street Southwest.

Ephrata police reportedly responded to the residence at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday after receiving multiple 9-1-1 hang-ups. There they found "the entire living room was flames from floor to ceiling and windows were popping out," according to a police report.

Ephrata Fire Chief Jeremy Burns said when firefighters arrived nobody was inside the home, but the fire was consuming the living room and had breached the walls, climbing into the second story master bedroom.

The fire started in the vicinity of the living room fireplace, where Burns said there was an electrical power supply and some manufactured fire logs had been burned earlier in the evening. Investigators are still determining exactly how the fire began, but have ruled out any suspicious circumstances, he said.

The first floor of the 1940s-era house was heavily damaged by fire, smoke and heat, Burns said, while the second floor underwent some fire damage as well as smoke and heat damage elsewhere.

Five engines and about 20 firefighters responded from Ephrata fire and Grant County Fire District 13, Burns said.

At about 2:15 a.m., while Ephrata fire crews were cleaning up the house, fire district 13 crews responded to another fire call on H Street Southeast, where a passerby reportedly noticed outdoor furniture and the deck of a residence were catching fire.

The fire was apparently sparked by a nearby fire pit that had reportedly been used earlier in the evening, Burns said

Little damage was done, as the flames were quickly put out by a responding police officer with a chemical fire extinguisher, he added.