Floor Furnace Sparks Blaze at Apartment : Fire: Flames gutted two women’s residence, causing more than $80,000 damage and forcing them to seek shelter elsewhere.

A fast-moving fire, apparently sparked by a floor furnace, gutted an apartment Saturday and forced two residents to find temporary shelter just days before Christmas.

Fire officials said no one was home when the fire was reported about 9 a.m. at an apartment in the 500 block of St. Anns Drive. The blaze consumed the apartment and its contents within minutes, causing more than $80,000 in damage, Fire Capt. Eugene D’Isabella said.

“When we got there, there was smoke pumping out of the eaves and it had been going on awhile,” D’Isabella said. “The minute we opened the door, it burst into flames and the whole inside was red.”

D’Isabella said the leaping flames caused a Christmas tree to burn from the top down. “We managed to save a bunch of Christmas presents stacked under the tree,” he said. “They’re probably all melted but the boxes are still intact.”

Fire officials said Saturday’s blaze was the second in two days started by a floor furnace, an antiquated heating system that is located beneath a grate on the floor. The furnace was located in the living room area, officials said.

They suspect that a drastic drop in temperatures caused the thermostat to click on the floor furnace, which then ignited some papers and a bookcase that were sitting on top of it.

“What happens is, if you turn the thermostat all the way down, it only goes down to about 50 degrees,” D’Isabella said. “If the temperature goes lower than that, then it turns it on.”

He said the heater can only be turned off by removing the grate and adjusting a handle that controls the thermostat.

D’Isabella said the residents of the apartment, Sarah van De Vinter and Mary Diamond, were not aware that the furnace had been left on. He said the American Red Cross had offered the women clothing and shelter.