A mother and toddler escaped from a fire in their Columbus home’s attic yesterday afternoon in the city’s first structure fire of the new year.

A neighbor noticed smoke coming from the attic of a home in the 200 block of Mapleton Street at just before 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon, says Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department.

The 24-year-old mother and her 3-year-old daughter got out of the home with no injuries. Firefighters were on scene within minutes and ended up going through a vent in the roof to attack the fire, and then to remove smoldering insulation, Wilson says.

The fire was caused by an electrical short in the attic space. Damage was estimated at about $2,500.