Fire Damages Porch of Home on Olcott Street in Watertown

A fire, believed to have begun with wiring to a porch light, damaged the porch of the home at 16 Olcott St., but firefighters put the flames out before they could damage the rest of the home.

The fire began at about 1:50 p.m. Monday, and damaged the ceiling of a porch roof.

Eletrical problems appear to be the cause, said Watertown Deputy Fire Chief Robert Quinn.

"It appears to be a problem with the front porch light," Quinn said. "It was a short circuit or a circuit overload."

Fire crews on the scene hooked up to the hydrants and doused the flames with water, bringing the fire under control in a short time.

"As soon as we got here and got lines (of water) on it, it was under control," Quinn said.

The roof of the porch was damaged, and firefighters ripped out burned sections of wood. The inside of the house was spared flame damage, but some smoke got inside the home, Quinn said.