Firefighters in Atlantic kept busy over the weekend putting out fires on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Crews were called to 1006 Maple Street just before 12:30-p.m. Sunday.Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News the home owner left for a brief time and returned to find smoke inside, and flames coming from the rear of the house. The structure sustained damage from flames in a bedroom, and substantial smoke damage elsewhere. McNees said it appeared an overheated pump for a fish aquarium was to blame. He said the man and his daughter were not injured, but some pets didn’t make it out alive. Firefighters saved three cats, but some birds were lost to the fire. McNees said the house probably would have been lost, had the home owner not come back when he did. He says a few minutes later, the flames would have spread even further, and they “Would’ve had a real problem.”

And, an electrical problem was apparently the blame for a vehicle fire south of Atlantic Saturday afternoon. Crews responded to a report of a fully engulfed vehicle fire on Highway Six, about a mile south of 29^th Street, at 4:45-p.m. When they arrived, firefighters observed an SUV on fire, and heavy black smoke drifting across the road, which caused traffic to come to a complete stop. A woman and her daughter escaped the vehicle without injury. Deputies with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control at the scene.