PARKERSBURG - Several area fire departments responded to a house fire Monday afternoon on Loomis Ridge Road just east of Parkersburg off U.S. 50.
Emergency crews said the back of the house was fully engulfed, but firefighters were working to keep the blaze from spreading to nearby trees and vehicles.
The fire was reported about 3:30 p.m. by a passerby who spotted smoke and fire, the Wood County 911 Center reported. The East Wood Volunteer Fire Department was joined by units and equipment from Mineral Wells, Waverly, Blennerhassett and Deerwalk departments.
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Area firefighters responded to a house fire Monday on Loomis Ridge Road.
The Wood County Fire Investigation Team was called out to the scene after the fire was extinguished.
Joe Hawkins, assistant chief for East Wood VFD, said most of the other departments had been released from the scene by 9 p.m. Monday while his units remained for another hour to watch for hot spots and conduct cleanup operations before returning to their station about 10:30 p.m.
The one-and-a-half-story home was listed as a total loss, Hawkins said.
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Photo by Jeff Baughan
A member of the Waverly Volunteer Fire Department douses the back of a structure, which burned Monday on Loomis Ridge Road off Blue Front Hollow along U.S. 50.
The owners of the old home, whose names were not available Monday night, had recently moved out and were in the process of moving items from the Loomis Ridge house to their new home, he said.
One of the owners had been working at the location and left about 30 minutes prior to the fire being spotted.
Despite the family's moving work, there was still a lot of property inside the house which was lost, but firefighters were able to recover items like a family Bible and other things, he said.
At one point after firefighters arrived at the scene, it was determined they could not save the structure and it became a defensive attack, Hawkins said. The firefighters focused on keeping the fire contained to the structure and away from nearby trees and other things.
Hawkins said there were a couple of challenges faced by the firefighters Monday afternoon, but access to water was not one of those. A hydrant about 200 feet from the residence provided water, but the roads on Loomis Ridge are narrow and non-emergency traffic was halted in that area while the fire was being fought.
The steep terrain affected efforts to fight the fire.
The afternoon's heat was a challenge, but no firefighters were adversely impacted by the high temperatures. Hawkins said Waverly brought its rehab unit to the scene, providing fans and water to help firefighters beat the heat.
The cause and origin of the fire were still under investigation Monday night, Hawkins said. The fire investigation team listed the cause as undetermined while the investigation continued, he said.
