Crews from Farmington and Escalon fire departments quickly contained a late morning fire on Thursday, Aug. 24, saving an historic home in Farmington from extensive damage.

Farmington Fire Department Chief Matt Bailey said the call came in at 11:42 a.m. Thursday, with the home in the center of town, along Highway 4, just a couple of doors down from the fire station.

“It came in as a structure fire and it’s an occupied home, a late 1800s house in town,” Bailey explained. “The fire was caused by an electrical problem in the meter box.”

The issue caused arcing that subsequently caught a portion of the outside of the home and the attic on fire.

“We contained it to the attic and one bedroom,” Bailey added. “We had mutual aid, with an engine from Escalon and an engine from Linden.”

Escalon firefighters responding assisted with the containment effort on scene; Linden provided station coverage.

“We were on scene for about four hours and we had it knocked down pretty quickly,” the chief said. “The homeowner had it cleaned up that night.”

There were no injuries reported and the quick response, in addition to the mutual aid, helped keep the fire damage to a minimum.