No one injured in house fire

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Volunteer firefighters from three departments responded to a house fire along U.S. 50 halfway between Brownstown and Seymour on Monday morning.

Around 10 a.m., two firefighters from the Brownstown Volunteer Fire Department were the first to respond to the home at 3340 E. U.S. 50.

Lt. Blake Peters said flames were present when they arrived, but it was mainly smoke coming from the northwest corner of the house, where a bedroom and bathroom are located.

He said the fire was put out in about seven minutes.

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No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported, Peters said.

A sign on a detached garage said the home had been occupied by the McClusky family. Firefighters learned from a relative at the scene that the family had moved to Brownstown, and the home had been unoccupied for about two months.

According to county property tax records, the home is owned by Richey L. Liming and sits on 0.457 acres.

Peters said the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. The damage estimate was unavailable.

“Once we get the hot spots knocked down, we’ll be able to go back through and we’ll be able to look at the house, go through the house and see if we can figure out where it started out,” he said.

Peters said the first thing he did was bust out two side windows to allow air to enter the home. Air conditioning units were in those windows.

He then removed the sliding door from the back of the home so he could enter it and put out the fire.

Two other Brownstown firefighters responded along with Jackson-Washington and Carr township volunteer firefighters. They helped remove smoldering items and trash from the home, set up fans to ventilate the home and water down hot spots.

“I do want to thank Carr Township and I also want to thank Jackson-Washington for being so quick on response,” Peters said.

The outside temperature was in the 40s at the time, and frost was on the wooden deck on the back of the house and on the grass.

Peters said the cold weather isn’t typically a factor for firefighters unless the temperature is below 0 degrees, when water can freeze and ice can cause problems.

“It’s a little bit easier on us to fight one when it’s cold outside than it is when it’s hot,” he said. “We get more exhausted quicker when it’s hot outside.”

As firefighters worked to put out the fire, officers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department helped direct traffic on U.S. 50 near the house.

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