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Dozens of firefighters from multiple departments team up to battle a house fire at 1394 State Route 29, Celina, in Washington Township. No one was injured but the home was deemed a total loss.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP- Firefighters from multiple departments braved intense flames and searing temperatures as they fought to quell a house fire in western Mercer County on Thursday afternoon.
No one was injured in the blaze but the 11/2 story single family home at 1394 State Route 29, Celina, situated on an irregular-shaped 3.36-acre parcel of land near a cluster of other houses in Washington Township, was deemed a total loss, according to Southwest Mercer Fire Department Assistant Chief John Kaffenberger.
Two family cats perished and a pair of nearby homes incurred heat damage, he added.
The Southwest Mercer Fire Department was dispatched to the scene near the intersection of State Route 29 and Wabash Road at 2:40 p.m.
When they arrived, most of the garage was fully engulfed and the house, a wood structure with siding, was just starting to go up in flames, Kaffenberger said. Smoke spewing from the structure enveloped the area and could be seen 7 miles away.
Smoke spews from a house fire near the intersection of State Route 29 and Wabash Road on Thursday afternoon.
Soon, firefighters from Celina, Coldwater, Chattanooga, St. Henry and Rockford reached the site, responding to a mutual aid call. All told, Kaffenberger estimated 40-45 firefighters were on hand.
"We went inside until we decided it was unsafe," Kaffenberger said. "The heat of the house structure inside kind of started to deteriorate the house to where it made it unsafe, and then it was just an exterior attack."
Firefighters pummeled the fire with water from hand lines and atop a ladder truck. They drew water from a tanker and a nearby pond, Kaffenberger said.
A high temperature of nearly 90 degrees on Thursday afternoon compounded firefighters' efforts to subdue the inferno. Kaffenberger said it took quite a few hours to get the fire under control. Personnel were still on the scene at 8:15 p.m. awaiting the state fire marshal.
The cause and origin of the fire is uncertain at this time. Foul play is not suspected, Kaffenberger said. He also did not have a damage estimate but said the house, built in 1900, is a total loss.
The property is owned by Nicholas Post, per county auditor's office online records.
Kaffenberger said firefighters worked well together as usual and thanked them for their assistance on Thursday.
