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Chief says suspicious blaze gutted home. Second flare-up brings total loss
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
Firefighters and police are investigating a suspicious fire that gutted a New Franklin house Monday night.
An off-duty firefighter and police officer helped David Messner, the homeowner, who was at the doorway of the smoke-filled house when they arrived, get to safety. He was transported to Akron Children's Hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation but is expected to recover, said New Franklin Fire Chief Perry Surgeon.
The home at 5508 Pepperidge Road was destroyed, resulting in a loss of about $110,000, Surgeon said.
The fire, which started in the basement, is being investigated by New Franklin firefighters and police.
''At this point, we do not think it was accidental,'' Surgeon said.
Firefighter Don Burroughs, Messner's next-door neighbor, alerted the fire department to the blaze at 9:21 p.m. Monday.
Firefighters from New Franklin, Coventry Township and Clinton fought the fire until about 1 a.m. At that point, Surgeon said, there was significant damage to the basement and smoke damage to the first floor of the one-story ranch. He estimated the amount of damage at that point at about $35,000.
''Everything seemed to be OK,'' he said. ''We had done our final inspection.''
The fire flared up again about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, with the roof igniting. Surgeon said the second blaze damaged the rest of the home, resulting in a total loss.
Firefighters from New Franklin, Coventry, Clinton and Green were on the scene until about 9 a.m.
Surgeon said the second fire was caused by a hot spot missed in the initial blaze.
Messner's wife and children weren't home at the time of the fire. The family had homeowner's insurance, and they will stay with relatives, the chief said.
Surgeon hopes to have the report on the fire finished by today.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
Firefighters and police are investigating a suspicious fire that gutted a New Franklin house Monday night.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 11:52 AM, 11/19/2008
I didn't know there were any hot spots in New Franklin! I need to get in the LOOP!
Posted 09:24 PM, 11/19/2008
It is not very appropriate to make jokes about this family's tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to these kids.
Posted 12:34 AM, 11/20/2008
Call me cynical and mean but I am going to place my bet that this fire was set by the homeowner! If this ends up being true, its a sad commentary on the economic hardships people face and the choices they feel they need to make to make extra money (or to avoid foreclosure).
Posted 06:15 PM, 11/26/2008
I agree! It is sad when a homowner would risk his life to " make extra money", but this has not been established. I'm sure it will all come out in the wash. But let's explore the options of this particular person if this is the case, as well as obvious suspicions of what we know by the information provided in the article.
1.We don't know that this house was in forclosure from the article.
2.The wife and kids were not home at the time.
3.He was found by the front door and treated at a local hospital and is expected to recover fully.
4.If there was a accidental cause, it is usually found immediately by fire oficials.
5.They said that this was not an accident,but fell short of saying it was all out arson.
6.they also said that the basement was where it started,or suffered the most damage initially.
7.At the time of the second " hot spot" fire that destroyed what was left,I can only assume that the homeowner was being treated at the hospital.
Here's a big Hmmmm coming from me right now. I'm giong to have to agree with K. If this is what it looks like to me,It is sad that someone would go to that great length,almost surely risking his own life to pull it off.
It is also sad that if this is arson by the homeowner, and he gets away with it, that the insurance company will reward him greatly for a crime that would surely send him to jail for a long time.
I just wonder if there were any pets that were away with mom at the time.
I also wonder how many non replaceable items were desroyed ie.Family momentos,pictures,jewelry etc.
If this is what it looks like to me,It's a crime that we all pay for eventually and sadly it is happening ten fold because of the housing crisis.
I feel badly for anyone who would go to such lengths. Their desperation is unthinkable and also punishable by the laws that we all have to follow.
