Downtown home damaged in evening fire

A downtown Columbus home suffered about $48,000 in damages after a fire Tuesday night — the first home fire of the new year.

Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the fire department, says that firefighters were called to the 500 block of North Cherry Street at 10:24 Tuesday evening. When they got to the scene, flames were coming from the rear of the home. Firefighters entered the front of the home and ran into high heat and heavy smoke.

Six fire trucks worked at the scene to knock down the blaze, which appeared to start near the garage at the back of the home, before spreading to the home itself.

The intense heat also threatened a nearby home, melting its vinyl siding but firefighters used a stream of water to protect that building.

It took about 35 minutes to get the fire under control. No one was injured and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department