article courtesy of The Morning Sun
A home in Ithaca that caught on fire seems to be a complete loss, according to Ithaca Fire Department chief David Nelson.
The call about a fire came in at 1:54 p.m. Tuesday to a home on the 700 block of East North Street.
“We got a call – I’m not sure who called it in, either a neighbor or passerby – who said they saw smoke coming out of the eaves,” Nelson said. “When we got here, the entire downstairs was on fire with fire coming out one window.”
Members of the department and the Alma and St. Louis Area fire departments responded to the scene quickly.
No one was home at the time of the fire.
“There wasn’t anybody inside that we’re aware of. The property owners don’t live here,” Nelson said. “There was power to the structure but they’ve been living some place else for whatever reason right now.”
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
“We haven’t even had a chance to get into that yet,” he said.
The cold weather impacted some of the firefighting effort; on Tuesday, the high temperature was 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
“We had some equipment freezing but for the most part we’re kind of used to working in the cold,” Nelson said.
Power was disconnected to a home directly to the east of the home on fire, but the power was returned with a few hours.
