No one injured in electrical fire on Montana Avenue

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:11 p.m.

No one was injured in a fire on Montana Avenue on Thursday morning that appeared to have started on the home’s main electrical panel, which is in the garage.

The fire was reported at about 10:44 a.m. Thursday.

“I had just come home from the store, and all of a sudden, I hear this loud roaring sound like wind,” homeowner Shirley McClain said.

But she couldn’t find the source of the noise.

Then, when she put something in the microwave, she realized there was no power. Upon further investigation, she found smoke in her garage.

“I could smell smoke, and I called 911,” McClain. “They told me to get out, and I did. I grabbed my coat and purse, and I left.”

Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Rackard said the fire caused minimal damage to cabinets and the wall between the garage and the kitchen. He estimated the damage at about $7,500 to $10,000. The wall will have to be replaced, and the electrical panel repaired, he said.

There was no exterior damage, although smoke was billowing from the attic and garage when firefighters arrived.

More information will be added as it becomes available.