A heat gun apparently was the cause of a house fire that caused substantial damage Thursday afternoon at 408 Neosho St.
Emporia Fire Marshal Tom Andrews said that a heat gun was being used to strip paint at the house. The heat from the gun apparently overheated the wood and caused it to ignite.
Firefighters arrived on the scene at 4:12 p.m., just 3 minutes after the fire was reported. The last of the units that were used to fight the fire had left the scene at 5:47 p.m.
Andrews said that firefighters needed to cut a hole in the roof to extinguish the fire.
According to county records, the house is owned by Jeanette Hurshman of Neosho Rapids.
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