MONROE — A Monroe family got out of their house safely after an electrical malfunction in the home’s old wiring caused a porch fire early Sunday, Aug. 11, according to Monroe Fire Chief Dan Smits.

“They smelled the smoke. That’s what woke them up,” Smits said.

Firefighters responded at about 4:15 a.m. to the house in the 2200 block of 15th Street. The fire was mostly confined inside the rear porch roof but still left about $10,000 in damages, Smits said.

A lost neutral wire connection, a common issue with old electrical wiring, is believed to have caused the fire.

“It’s what we believe to be a lost-neutral situation, which can cause strange things to happen with people’s electrical in their homes,” Smits said.

Warning signs can include flickering lights or a breaker tripping with no apparent reason. In this case, the home’s breaker had tripped multiple times in the days leading up the fire, Smits said.

“This is one of those things that happens that people have no clue about until it’s too late,” he said. He recommends that homes with old wiring get evaluated at the first sign of potential malfunction.

“If your breaker trips, there has to be a reason for it,” he said, adding that if there isn’t a reason, call an electrician.