A house fire in Elkhart is being blamed on bag of rags that spontaneously ignited. Three cats were killed inside the home, early Monday morning, in the 3500 block of east Jackson Blvd. The homeowner told investigators that she had been refinishing hardwood floors and left the home to let the floors dry. When she returned, she noticed that lights she left on had been turned off and saw heavy smoke when she opened the door. Investigators say a bag full of rags the homeowner used for the refinishing project were ignited by “spontaneous heating,”. The fire burned a hole through the floor beneath the bag and caused about $18,000 of damage to the home. The pet cats died from smoke inhalation.
