Emergency crews converged on a Georgetown, Kentucky, apartment complex Wednesday morning after a possible fire was reported, but officials later said the smoke came from a malfunctioning water heater.
What happened?
At about 11 a.m. on July 15, responders were called to Colonial Gardens Apartments on Williamsburg Lane in Georgetown's The Colony neighborhood following a report of smoke from an upstairs unit, Georgetown Fire Department Chief Seth Johnson told The News-Graphic.
Firefighters did not find any flames at the scene. Instead, Johnson said the smoke was traced to a water heater located in the attic above the unit.
"The fuse was blown on the water heater - had some sparking on the water heater unit itself - so they isolated the water heater, shut off power to the water heater, and now they're just making sure there wasn't any other extension," Johnson said at the scene.
Officials reported no injuries, and tenants started going back into their apartments at about 11:30 a.m. Johnson said firefighters had "cleared all the apartment buildings, cleared the attic, just to make sure, again, no extension."
Why does it matter?
Johnson said the sizable response was standard for a possible building fire, calling it a "typical first alarm," according to The News Graphic, and adding, "Anytime we have a possible structure fire in the city, it's going to get every unit in the city, as well as two units from the County."
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While this incident was resolved safely and quickly, a faulty water heater can be extremely dangerous and cause considerable harm.
What can I do?
Making sure you have equipment inspected regularly can help ensure old or faulty parts are caught before they become a problem.
If you rent, ask your landlord to have units checked and serviced regularly.
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