Midday fire causes $25,000 in damage to duplex

COLUMBIA — At 12:27 p.m. Wednesday, five Columbia Fire Department vehicles and 18 personnel were dispatched to 1705 Nelwood Drive to bring a fire under control, Columbia Fire Cpt. Eric Hartman said.

The owner of the residence, Paisha Johnson, as well as those of the neighboring duplexes, was not at home. No one was injured in the fire.

The first truck arrived at 12:31 p.m. to find heavy smoke coming from the eaves of the roof, Hartman said. Fire crews entered the residence and quickly found the fire in a back room. Hartman said it took 15 minutes for firefighters to put out the fire.

The home suffered significant damage to the back bedroom as well as smoke and heat damage throughout the rest of the duplex. The estimated total damage is $25,000, Hartman said.

There were four smoke detectors in the building, Hartman said. Two of the detectors had batteries but did not function. The other two detectors did not have any batteries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Hartman said.