A fire of unknown origin resulted in heavy smoke and water damage Monday afternoon to a house at West 34th Avenue and Hazel Street, but there were no injuries reported.
Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department Battalion Chief Harold Clark said that an initial report indicated that there were people in the house. When the first responding firefighters arrived, neighbors were trying to go in the house, which is at 2111 W. 34th Ave., because they thought someone might be inside.
“They said somebody might have been in there, so our first priority was to knock the fire down enough so that we could conduct a search,” Clark said. “There was nobody inside during our initial search, and we were conducting a second search when the residents pulled up. They said they had gone to the parade.”
He said it took firefighters about 10 minutes to put out the fire, and large fans were placed in the front door to pull out some of the smoke.
“The Red Cross came out and they will assist the residents with finding a place to stay,” Clark said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, Clark said.
Traffic was temporarily rerouted on Hazel Street while firefighters battled the blaze.