Fires: How ice sparks danger

From 7 a.m. Monday to about 5 p.m. Tuesday, the department was called to more than 40 fires, which is more than double the average number of structure fires in a 24-hour period, Deputy Chief Tony Young said.

Overwhelmed Emergency responders overwhelmed with the magnitude of calls.
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Most of the fires were caused by trees that fell across power lines connected to the house through the meter, Young said. The weather head that is attached to the meter will spark and catch fire as it is pulled down by an ice-laden power line.

This tends to happen more in older homes, such as those in the central part of Oklahoma City where power lines are suspended and attached to the top of the home, Young said.

This may have been the case at a Paseo district home at 625 NW 27. Neighbors noticed smoke pouring from the home about 8:30 a.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the front room was ablaze. The residents were not there at the time, possibly because their power had been knocked out, fire Maj. Chris Goodwin said.

On top of the more than 40 calls to blazes, city firefighters responded to more than 650 emergency calls from 7 a.m. Monday to about 5 p.m. Tuesday, Young said. On any given day, the department will respond to an average of 190 calls.

Contributing: Staff Writer Micah Gamino