Fire evacuates 2 people, 2 dogs from Live Oak home

A stove burner sparked a blaze that caused major damage to a two-story home in Live Oak Monday afternoon.

Firefighters responded to a fire at 770 Crystal Lane around 4 p.m. and were able to extinguish it in an hour.

The fire was contained to the first floor, which was unoccupied at the time and was being used only for storage. One of the residents reported that he’d been on the first floor earlier that day earranging some of his stored items.

The fire has been determined to be accidental. The cause appears to be combustible materials stored too close to a stove. One of the burners on the stove seems to have been turned on accidentally, igniting some of the stored items.

Shortly after that, he saw smoke coming from the storage area. He told his girlfriend to leave the house and tried to put out the fire with a garden hose. The couple and their two dogs escaped without injury.

The first floor is not habitable because of fire, heat and smoke damage but the second floor was not damaged. There were not smoke or carbon monoxide alarms inside, according to Central Fire’s Mike DeMars.

DeMars said the fire was determined to be accidental, sparked by combustible items left next to the stove, which ignited when a burner was inadvertently turned on.