Early Wednesday morning storms are being blamed for a pair of house fires in Manhattan’s Northview area.
The Manhattan Fire Department was called out to 2300 Blueberry Drive around 1:30 a.m. and found smoke showing from the home’s attic. Crews were then alerted by the homeowner that smoke was coming from the house next door at 2304 Blueberry Drive, which also had an attic fire.
The fires reached a combined second alarm and were contained in under an hour. The Riley County Fire Department provided an air trailer and personnel to fill air bottles, and also backfilled one of the stations as MFD responded to 29 storm-related calls for service overnight.
Total loss is estimated at $65,000 to the home at 2300 Blueberry Drive and $25,000 to the home at 2304 Blueberry Drive. No injuries were reported.
The fires were reportedly caused by storm damage to the electrical service supplying both homes.