Belleville resident arrives home to find his living room on fire

A Belleville resident arrived home shortly after midnight Thursday to find his living room on fire.

The Belleville Fire Department was called to 523 N. First St. at 12:01 a.m. It took firefighters nearly three hours to extinguish the blaze.

There were no injuries, said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Zahn, adding that the fire was contained to the living room.

The homeowner, a male who lives alone, had just arrived home from work, got out of his car and could smell something in the air, Zahn said. The man unlocked the front door and the residence was full of smoke.

He attempted to enter the house and turn the lights on, but exited the building when he couldn’t find the switch, Zahn said.

The Belleville Fire Department was the lone crew to handle the blaze.

“There is smoke and heat damage throughout the structure, but it did not get anywhere outside of the main room/living room,” Zahn said. “They did have to pull some ceiling back to make sure it didn’t extend into the attic.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Zahn added, and no other properties were impacted.

This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 3:18 PM.