A knocked over lit candle in a bedroom started a fire that grew rapidly at a Tucson home on the city's south side Monday. The resident lit the candle and was going to pray.
No one was injured in the fire in the 300 block of West Canada Street, near South Liberty Avenue, said Capt. Barrett Baker of the Tucson Fire Department.
Firefighters responded to the house shortly after 9 a.m. and found the resident outdoors after attempting to get a hose, but saw that the fire was spreading quickly and did not return inside the house, Baker said.
Crews encountered smoke and pulled a hose line into the house and made it to a back bedroom and began battling the blaze. It took nine units and 23 firefighters seven minutes to put out the fire, said Baker.
The resident, who accidentally knocked over the candle, was going to stay with relatives. The home's smoke alarm had been removed.
A damage estimate had not been determined.
