MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Kristina King was with her son at his eye appointment Monday when she got a call from her landlord.
Her house was on fire, he told her. And it might explode.
"I didn't want to believe it," the 32-year-old mother told the Journal-News. "I never expected to lose my house."
The Middletown Division of Fire estimated King's house on 19th Avenue had $60,000 worth of damage, along with about $5,000 in damage to the contents.
A preliminary investigation found a worker using an aerosol can too close to a water heater ignited the fire, Deputy Chief Brent Dominy told the Journal-News.
King said her landlord, Larry Glenn, told her the worker was patching holes with foam so mice couldn't get into the house.
She and two children, ages 3 and 7, stayed with relatives in the neighborhood. King said she could barely stand to look at the damage.
"Too difficult," she said. "This is crazy."
Read more about the circumstances leading to this fire at the Journal-News, a WCPO media partner.
