Trish Bennett, Editor
WALNUT TOWNSHIP – A home on Ashville-Fairfield Road suffered heavy damage Thursday when a brush fire got out of control and ignited the side of the house, according to firefighter Dan Heeter, Harrison Township Fire Department.
Heeter said the homeowner at 7165 Ashville-Fairfield Road was burning some leaves and brush with a propane heater near the house about 4:30 p.m. when burning debris caught one of the bushes on fire.
“There were about six of them in a row along the side of the house, and they just went one right after the other,” Heeter said. “That was pretty much it. Once they got going, nothing would stop them.”
Heeter said the west side of the house, owned by LaVerne Wills and Freddie Tackett, was heavily damaged, but firefighters were able to stop the flames before they spread through the rest of the home.
“We were the first on the scene and got a pretty good knock-down on it,” Heeter said. “It was in the attic and ready to take off, but getting in there quick and knocking it down saved a pretty good bit of (the house).”
Harrison was assisted at the scene by fire crews from Rickenbacker, Clearcreek, Pickaway Township, Circleville and Bloom Township, he said. The Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and the Box65 auxiliary unit also responded, along with the Red Cross to assist the homeowners.
Heeter said Tackett was transported by the Clearcreek squad to Berger Hospital for treatment, but he could not confirm Thursday the nature or extent of her injury.
Crews cleared the scene at 6:19 p.m., he said, just under two hours from the start of the blaze.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
