A fire that damaged the exterior of a Ward Street house on Tuesday afternoon had an unusual way of getting started. According to Battalion Chief Anthony Fabrizi, “the homeowner stated that she was attempting to heat a hand towel in the microwave oven and noticed a section of the towel had started to discolor from the heat. The homeowner then placed the towel outside to cool on her mailbox as a precaution and returned to the inside of her home. The towel had caught fire and spread to a wooden decoration mounted on the mailbox and eventually spread to the home's exterior siding.