BOISE, Idaho — A house in Boise caught on fire late Wednesday night due to the improper disposal of embers.
Embers from a fire the family had on the night of Christmas Eve were thrown into a trash can located on the side of the house around 5:30 p.m. Christmas day.
Four hours later, around 9:30 p.m., the trash can caught on fire which spread to the exterior of the house. The flames worked their way up the side of the house and into the attic.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
Firefighters had to tear out much of the insulation to control the fire. Most of the attic was damaged in the incident.
The majority of the flames were put out in less than 10 minutes.
The family was displaced for Christmas night while firefighters worked to secure the house.
The fire department says this was the second house fire started by the improper disposal of embers they responded to on Wednesday alone.
Day old embers cause Boise house fire
Embers should be disposed in a metal trash can with a metal lid. It is not safe to put ashes in a plastic bin or near anything that is combustible.
"Ashes take a long time to cool and it's important that people remember that. We see a lot of fires started by that this time of year," the fire investigator said.