Fire damages group home

Staff report

BOARDMAN

Officials estimate about $100,000 worth of structural damage from a Tuesday night fire on Prestwick Drive.

All eight township firefighters on duty responded to Gateways to Better Living, 75 Prestwick, around 9 p.m. Tuesday and called for assistance from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District, according to reports.

The damage estimate on the contents of the building was $25,000, and no one was injured, officials said.

Two clients and a supervisor were at the home for developmentally disabled residents when the fire started, according to a police report.

The report states that a female client told police she set the fire using a metal lighter to ignite blankets in her room. Police said the female accused of setting the fire has been admitted to the hospital several times before for mental illness and was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center again Tuesday night.

Officials also are investigating an arson on Southern Boulevard that was reported Tuesday.

A man told police that someone set fire to an unknown object Monday night on his front porch causing $250 worth of damage, reports state. Police said they do not have a suspect in that case.