Fire claims family home

By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com

March 12, 2008 07:30 pm

— AUSTINBURG TOWNSHIP — An early-morning fire caused significant damage to the house at 1511 N. Forman Road Wednesday, Austinburg Township Fire Chief William Wilms said.
The house, owned by John Dragon Jr. and family, began at 2 a.m. in the garage or back porch, Wilms said.
The family was sleeping when the fire started but was out of the burning house by the time fire crews arrived at the scene. No one was injured. The family doesn’t have any pets. The house was insured, Wilms said.
Firefighters from Austinburg, Jefferson and Harpersfield trod through snow as they worked to control the blaze. Fueled by high winds, the fire spread from the back of the house near the garage and spread through the house quickly, Wilms said.
“The fire started in a room the family wasn’t using. So it is going to take some time to determine the cause of this fire,” Wilms said. “Everything is still under investigation at this time.”
Wilms said the department hasn’t yet set a specific monetary loss for the house and its contents but called the scene “pretty much a total loss.”