Basement fire causes $40,000 in damage in Warren

Staff report

WARREN

A basement fire in a home on Willard Avenue Northeast caused about $40,000 in damage Tuesday morning, but the couple living there got out unharmed.

A ductwork-cleaning company was working in the basement near the furnace at the time the fire started. That is the area where the fire started, but Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle said the cause is still under investigation.

One of two duct-cleaning workers alerted the couple to evacuate, Nussle said.

Personnel with the Warren Fire Department and Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.

Firefighters from all three stations were in training at the Masonic Temple at East Market and Pine streets Northeast downtown when the 9 a.m. fire was reported. They scrambled to their trucks, which were parked nearby, and responded.

Thick smoke could be seen coming from the home, causing smoke damage to all three floors, but the fire damage was contained to the basement, which contained furniture, Nussle said.

Nussle said there was “significant smoke damage.”

Fearing that the fire had started to travel up a wall, firefighters removed part of a first-floor exterior wall in an attempt to find it, but none was found, Nussle said.

The couple told Nussle they had lived there 40 years.