[StBernard] Blow torch starts fire in attic

[Westley Annis]

Blow torch starts fire in attic
Thursday, February 14, 2008St. Bernard bureau
A blowtorch used to solder copper piping started a two-alarm fire that
caused heavy damage to the attic of a Violet home Tuesday night,
firefighters said. 

No one was injured in the 9:43 p.m. blaze in the 3000 block of Guerra Drive,
said Deputy Chief Glenn Ellis of the St. Bernard Parish Fire Department. 

A friend of the homeowner was doing plumbing work inside the Hurricane
Katrina-damaged house when a blowtorch set fire to exposed insulation in the
walls, Ellis said. 

The fire traveled up the insulation into the attic, which was engulfed in
flames when firefighters arrived at 9:49 p.m., Ellis said. 

The blaze was brought under control within seven minutes and was declared
extinguished at 10:19 p.m., Ellis said. 

"We've had a lot of fires at gutted homes, but we especially hate to see
fires in homes that are being renovated," Fire Chief Thomas Stone said.
"That's another setback for someone who is trying to come back to St.
Bernard."