Family temporarily displaced after Christmas house fire in Racine



RACINE (WITI) -- FOX6 News has learned a fire broke out at a home on S. Memorial Drive on Christmas evening, December 25th -- but no one was injured in the incident.

It happened at a home in the 1200 block of S. Memorial. The fire reportedly broke out around 5:00 p.m. Wednesday.

David Johnson says he was in the kitchen basting a Christmas turkey when he learned of the fire.

"I was actually in the kitchen basting the turkey and they came running downstairs, saying the upstairs is on fire -- so I grabbed the extinguisher, tried to put it out but to no avail," Johnson said.

Fire crews say the fire began in an upstairs closet.

"Generally, it’s not something we see. There were large amounts of debris that had been in there apparently for some time, so we’re trying to go through what was in there. It was stacked pretty high," Racine Fire Lt. Mark Polzin said.

Crews were able to contain the flames to the upper level of the home -- and crews say the family will eventually be able to move back in.

"They did a really smart thing. When they noticed it, they opened up the closet, noticed the fire in the closet, they closed the closet door and kept it contained to the closet area," Lt. Polzin said.

While Johnson is happy the house was saved, he is far more grateful there were no injuries.

"Everybody made it out alive, so you gotta be thankful for that," Johnson said.

The Red Cross will be providing the Johnsons with accommodations for the night. Johnson says even if that falls through, there are relatives the family can stay with.