By GLEN WERLING
and DAVE SCHULTZ
Fire destroyed three sheds at a West Lancaster Street residence Monday.
Bluffton firefighters were paged to the scene at 427 W. Lancaster St. at 1:42 p.m. after neighbors spotted smoke rolling from a 17-foot by 29-foot shed at the rear of the residence.
Liberty Township and Ossian fire departments were paged to the scene for mutual aid and the Preble Fire Department was placed on standby in Kingsland.
Although the fire was brought under control within 30 minutes, firefighters were on the scene for more than three hours.
The structure where the fire started was so thoroughly burned, said Bluffton Deputy Fire Chief Chris Wolf, that a cause could not be determined.
The fire spread to two structures which were in extremely close proximity to the shed. One was a 10-foot by 10-foot yard barn and the other was an 11-foot by 20-foot storage shed. Those were also destroyed in the blaze, the heat of which also melted the vinyl siding on the north side of the house on the property and the vinyl siding of a neighboring house to the north. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to either house.
No one was occupying the house on the property at the time of the fire.
The fire also spread to an assortment of items that were stacked around the buildings, including a propane tank which vented during the fire.
No one was hurt fighting the fire. The department had closed all of the streets around the lot.
The address is familiar to city officials as the Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety has been acting on trash citations on the property. Those citations are now on hold pending the resolution of a lawsuit. That lawsuit is expected to clarify the city’s right to clean up property versus the property owner’s rights.
Mayor John Whicker said Monday afternoon that he had contacted Adrian Halverstadt, the Huntington attorney who represents the city in the lawsuit, to let him know about the fire.
Richard Triplett, the city’s building commissioner, said the lawsuit probably would not be affected by the fire. “If there are any changes, the lawyers will have to tell us what those changes will be,” he said.
glenw@news-banner.com
daves@news-banner.com
