Friday, March 27, 1998

Cowboys quarterback's home catches fire

PLANO, Texas (AP) - Just a few weeks after moving into a $3.2 million home that took more than two years to build, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman is going to have to fix up the place.

A three-alarm fire that began in an attic over the garage around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday caused up to $250,000 in damage, said Monique Cardwell, a spokeswoman for the Plano fire department.

Aikman was not home at the time and there were no injuries.

"God, it was a mess of white smoke and fire just belching out of there," said neighbor Bob Pert.

Fire chief Bill Peterson said the blaze is not suspicious, but officials will continue to investigate the cause.

Cardwell said 50 firefighters needed 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which was confined mostly to the garage area.

"The majority of the contents will be salvageable," she said. "There was only light smoke and water damage in the living area."

Peterson said firefighters paid special attention to protecting Aikman's football memorabilia.

"We placed a line on the second floor between the trophies and the fire and made sure that they were not threatened at all," he said.

Aikman moved into the 12,000-square-foot home earlier this month. The house took nearly two and a half years to be built before being finished about two months ago.

He returned home about 9 a.m. to find fire trucks and a swarm of media surrounding his house. He was later joined by teammates Deion Sanders and Bill Bates.

Aikman left shortly before noon without comment.