By John Howell
Batesville firemen believe that a second fire alarm Thursday morning, January 8, came from a faulty, wall-mounted electric heater.

Firefighters were called about 4:30 a.m. to what turned out to be a “smoke scare,” Fire Chief Tim Taylor said, at a home Goodhaven Street. The smoke appeared to have come from an overheated piece of furniture near a wall heater that was “turned off,” Taylor said.

The report was similar to house fires  with more serious consequences in 2010 and 2011 when firefighters said that wall-mounted electric heaters in older homes built in the 1970s and 1980s could turn on unexpectedly even with the switch in “off” position.

In 2011, then-Batesville Fire Marshall Brett Childs pointed to a study of electric heaters by Dr. John Owens of Mississippi State University.

Owens’ study found a thermostat switch that wears out over time, allowing the heater to come on unexpectedly.

“People think they are turned off,” Taylor said.

The Batesville Fire Chief said that older wall heaters should be disconnected from the power source. If that is not feasible, combustible materials should be kept a safe distance away.
“If you’ve got a piece of furniture jammed up against it, it’s going to burn.”

Thursday morning’s first fire destroyed the building behind Tradeway Village that housed Connie Haley’s Stairway to Heaven School of Music and Rebecca Smith’s Absolutely Relaxing Massage.

Taylor said that fire was called in by “public passerby” at 12:46 a.m. The first engine arrived at the fire six minutes later. Firemen found the structures “heavily involved,” Taylor said.

In addition to the building housing the two businesses, two block storage structures were also destroyed. Taylor said that the fire was considered of accidental origin.