A fire broke out in a residence in the Greenmont area of Morgantown Monday afternoon, causing extensive damage to the home.
Morgantown Fire Department Capt. John Lemley said the fire units that arrived first on the scene saw fire on the second floor of the Edgehill Street home. Edgehill is off Overdale Street and joins Alma Street on the other end.
Fire marshals are working to determine the cause of the fire, but the homeowner believes she knows what may have happened.
“I was cleaning my bathroom and lit a stick of incense. I went downstairs and was cleaning my back porch when I heard breaking glass and my alarm going off,” said homeowner Tracy Strother. “The only thing that could have happened was the cat knocked the incense into the bathroom curtain, catching the curtain on fire.”
Lemley said there was “pretty extensive fire and smoke damage to the second floor and smoke damage to the floor above and water damage to the floor below.”
Strother lived alone in the home with her two cats, one of which she does not believe survived the fire.
“I got my grownup cat out but my kitten, I couldn’t find him and they haven’t found him so I figure he is [gone],” she said.
Strother said that while the situation “sucks pretty bad,” she does have insurance on the home and people who will be able to help her. “I’m really lucky that I have people that love me and will help me get through this, so I’m safe,” she said.
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