Pizza box fire damages Salem home

March 13, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

SALEM — An estimated $3,000 damage was done to a Home Circle home when a pizza box, which caught fire on a kitchen stove and was put on a table in the attached garage, re-ignited early Wednesday evening.

Firefighters said Shirley O’Rourke, of 913 Home Circle, placed the pizza box in the garage, thinking the fire was out. However, it re-ignited and caught the door frame on fire and got inside the wall of the wood-frame bungalow.

A battery charger, which was plugged in, also caught fire causing a short that knocked out the power to the house, thereby alerting O’Rourke there was a problem. The fire was reported at 6:09 p.m., and the fire department cleared the scene at 6:42 p.m., officials said.