GREELEY, Colo. --
An early-morning apartment fire in Greeley left three families homeless early Wednesday.
The fire was reported shortly before 4 a.m. in the 1700 block of Fern Avenue.
Firefighters from the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority found flames shooting from the roof of the building when they arrived and quickly called in a second alarm. Everyone in the three-unit building was accounted for, the fire department said.
A total of 35 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. Damage was estimated at $100,000.
The Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross was able to help displaced families, which totaled six adults and four children.
The fire was caused by electrical wiring for the washer and dryer outlet which were improperly installed and not compliant with building codes, the Union Colony Fire Rescue said.
Investigators determined that the fire was caused by a clothes washing machine rubbing against a wire that had been surface mounted on the wall, unprotected, and not in any type of conduit, behind the machine.
Over many wash cycles, the friction caused by the movement of the machine had worn down the wire's insulation, eventually causing an electrical arc and igniting the morning fire.
