Updated: Woman Escapes, Parakeet Dies in Clawson House Fire

Fire officials say an electrical issue caused the basement fire that killed a pet parakeet Tuesday night on the 200 block of of Broadacre Avenue. An elderly woman was able to escape the fire.

Fire Chief Rick Dylewski said their investigation showed damage to an electrical panel at the house.

"There may have been some water leaking into it," Dylewski said. "What the actual cause of that was, we’re not 100 percent sure."

Crews were still putting out the hot spots inside the home on the 200 block of Broadacre Avenue at about 10:15 p.m.

Fire officials say they received a call about the fire around 9 p.m. and it took about 15 minutes to get the fire under control. Dylewski said when firefighters went inside the home to rescue the parakeet, it had already died. There was no one else inside the home at the time of the fire, officials said.

Dylewski said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined. The fire left extensive damage to the basement and there is some smoke damage to the upstairs of the house, Dylewski said.

"It was extremely hot and extremely smoky," Dylewski said.

Fire crews said items piled up in the basement made it difficult to locate the fire at first and combustibles caused it to quickly spread.

The resident declined to comment on the fire.