Updated 11/25: Pepper, leaf blower squirrel trap cause house fire
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November 25, 2008
By MARK LAWTON mlawton@pioneerlocal.com
A homeowner trying to rid his attic of squirrels this morning instead started his house on fire.
The homeowner at 2336 24th Avenue tried to blow cayenne pepper through the kitchen exhaust fan and into his attic, Broadview Fire Chief John Tierney said.
"He used a leaf blower to try to spread (the pepper)," Tierney said. "It got caught up in the hot motor of the exhaust fan. There were (also) rags up there in the attic."
The pepper and rags caught fire. Due to the leaf blower, said Tierney, "the fire got inside the walls and inside the flooring of the attic so it went through the whole house."
The fire department was called at 10:49 a.m. and firefighters from Broadview, five nearby villages and Leyden township arrived. It took them about a half hour to put out the fire, which Tierney estimates caused $60,000 to $70,000 worth of damage.
"Fortunately, nobody got hurt and everyone is going home