Firefighters investigate cause of East El Paso house fire

The El Paso Fire Department put out a house fire Sunday evening in the 1700 block of Glen Campbell Drive.

Residents called the homeowner, Ms. Martinez, who they say has lived in the home for 20 to 25 years.

Officials said they were called to the east El Paso home around 7:40 p.m. after neighbors saw smoke and flames coming from the front of a two-story home. When firefighters arrived, they began battling the flames while looking for people inside.

“We heard the lady that lives in the house yell,” Roger Clark said. “She yelled ‘my house is on fire’ and we looked and saw flames.” Clark said his son called 911 immediately.

The sole resident self-evacuated which allowed firefighters to focus on the flames. “She was trying to get a hose hooked up, but the flame was too much, so I ran over and tried to keep her away from it,” Clark said.

Officials said about 80 percent of the home was damaged, with damage costs estimated at $80,000.

A total of 12 units and 28 firefighters were used to extinguish the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but a person close to the homeowner told ABC-7 the homeowner reported seeing sparks coming from her roof.

The El Paso Police, EP Electric, Texas Gas, El Paso Planning and Inspections and the American Red Cross assisted with the incident.