Officials: Overloaded outlet caused Edinburgh house fire

Investigators have determined the cause of a fire that destroyed an Edinburgh home this week.

A fire that started just after 5 a.m. Tuesday at a home at Fairlane and High School drives was caused by an electrical overload, or short, Edinburgh Fire Chief Allen Smith said.

The fire started in a bedroom of the home where too many items were plugged into one outlet and it overloaded the electrical circuits, causing the fire, Smith said.

The house has been ruled a total loss. Peggy Perry, her daughter Regina Austra and Perry’s grandson Logan Perry made it out of the home safely with their two cats and a dog. The Red Cross is assisting the family, who is now displaced, Smith said.

Austra had oxygen tanks in her bedroom, where the fire started, due to a medical condition. One of the first Edinburgh firefighters on the scene threw the tanks out of the window of the home, preventing a dangerous explosion, Smith said.

When police arrived within minutes of the family’s 911 call, flames were already through the roof and the fire was quickly spreading. German Township Volunteer Fire Department was called in for back up and the flames were put out within 25 minutes, Smith said.