A recent fire at a Habitat for Humanity house on the city’s East Side is only a setback and not the end of the project.

A problem with electrical wiring caused a fire last week at 957 Buckeye St., according to fire officials. At the time of the fire, the house was about four to six weeks from being able to be occupied by a family.

The blaze started Feb. 8 in the basement area as a result of a live wire crossing with a ground wire when city power crews were turning the electric power on at the house, according to Hamilton Fire Chief Steve Dawson. The fire has been ruled as accidental.

Hamilton firefighters were on the scene for nearly two hours and contained the blaze to the basement and living room areas, according to the fire incident report.

Damages to the house were estimated at $25,000 and no injuries were reported.

“Absolutely we will rebuild,” said Ed Lee, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati. “This seems like a significant issue, but this will only set us back a few weeks.”

Lee said the fire caused some damages to the floor joists and that damage will have be removed before the project can move forward again. He said the rest of the house is structurally sound.

“The fire department did a great job in putting out the fire and containing the damages,” Lee said. “We believe the damages will be less than $25,000.”

He said the nonprofit organization has “never had a problem like this before.”

“We take it very seriously that we comply with building codes and inspections,” Lee said. The national nonprofit organization works with eligible families to build a modest home with the help of volunteers. Eligible families must repay an interest-free mortgage to Habitat for the home. In addition, families are also required to put in 500 hours of sweat equity by helping to build the house.

He said the house had been inspected before the electric power was turned on, adding that “the inspectors did their job.”

“A mistake was made and it’s something that happened,” Lee said.

The family, who has requested privacy, is upset about the situation, Lee said.

Two other Habitat families in the same area met last Saturday with the family and other volunteers to offer prayers and support.

“The family told us that they feel like they already have neighbors before they moved in,” Lee said.