An electrical problem is blamed for a house fire that caused extensive damage to a home in the 2400 block of South 16th Street Tuesday.

St Joseph Fire Department Inspector Jason Ziph says the fire caused an estimated $50,000 damage to the house at 2404 S. 16th.

A woman was checked out by paramedics at the scene but was not transported to the hospital. There were no injuries reported.

Mr. Ziph says the cause of the fire was electrical.

Fire crews had their hands full putting out the blaze. Dispatchers first sent police to the address on a “check for trouble” call. Subsequent to that they received the report of a debris fire, and after that they dispatched a full fire department response to put out a structure fire.

An old, malfunctioning fire hydrant complicated efforts to put out the fire, which was reported just three blocks from a fire station.