Falling power line starts island house fire

GALVESTON — A downed power line sparked a bedroom fire in a Galveston home Tuesday afternoon, Capt. Paul Chide, of the Galveston Fire Department, said.

No one was home when the fire started.

Heavy rains and winds knocked a power line into an alley behind the 3500 block of Avenue S.

Other outages in the area had delayed the power company from picking up the fallen line, Chide said.

“The power company is busy with all this bad weather,” he said. “That line caused a short through the television, which spread to a bedroom dresser, then to the rest of the bedroom.”

A charred remote control and ashy remains of a Wii connection cable sat in the two-story home’s yard.

Phillip Landry, who lives next door to the family, called the house’s owner when he heard the window shatter.

“I heard an explosion and then saw the fire blow the window out upstairs,” he said. “I grabbed the water hose and when I reached for the faucet, it shocked me.”

Power on the street was temporarily turned off, and the fire was put out within minutes, Chide said.