Fire guts vacant Arrowsmith home

March 28-- Mar. 28--ARROWSMITH -- Fire gutted a vacant home that was being remodeled and destroyed its nearby garage Wednesday in Arrowsmith, but no one was injured.

Firefighters were called about 6 p.m. to the single-story home at 301 S. East St., said Eric Kern, district chief of the Saybrook-Arrowsmith Fire Protection District.

"It was pretty much fully involved," he said. "There were flames shooting through the roof."

The fire was under control in about 30 minutes, he said.

While the exterior walls remained, the interior of the house was destroyed, he said, and the detached garage was leveled.

He said there likely were few contents because the house was being extensively remodeled for resale, Kern said, adding he did not have a dollar value estimate for the loss.

He said it was difficult in the immediate aftermath to determine the starting point or how the fire spread. The state fire marshal's office was called in to investigate the cause.

Firefighters from Arrowsmith, Bellflower, Colfax, Cooksville, Ellsworth and Saybrook and a Gibson Area Ambulance Services crew were on the scene.

"We are thankful for all of the rural departments' help," Kern said. "Mutual aid is always a plus."

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Contact Roger Miller at (309) 820-3233. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_rmiller

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