Fan sparks Wheaton fire

A malfunctioning fan is being blamed for causing a weekend attic fire that left a Wheaton house uninhabitable, officials said Monday.

Wheaton firefighters responded about 9 a.m. Sunday to the home on the 2000 block of Spring Green. When they arrived, they found the small blaze in the attic above a bathroom on the second floor.

No one was injured during the fire, which was brought under control by firefighters within minutes, officials said. The residents who live in the home safely escaped.

Investigators determined the blaze was sparked by a fan in the attic that had an electrical malfunction, officials said.

Several hours after the fire, crews were called back to the scene because of a small amount of smoldering materials. Those materials were extinguished without further incident.

Because of the damage to the house, officials with Wheaton’s building department deemed the house to be uninhabitable. A damage estimate isn’t available.