Fires still under investigation

Published 10:16 am Thursday, January 16, 2014

Investigators are still looking into what caused three separate fires in Lawrence County in recent weeks.

The first fire, which claimed the life of a Proctorville woman on Jan. 5, was determined to have started in the kitchen of a home in the 400 block of Front Street.

Michael Duchesne, assistant director of communications for the Ohio Fire Marshal, said the case is still open.

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Another fire in the 700 block of Township Road 116, Kitts Hill, that injured two men, is being ruled as accidental, although the investigation is still open. That fire happened Jan. 7.

“The investigator could not rule out combustible materials being too close to a portable heater as the cause,” Duchesne said.

Most recently, a trailer fire in the 2200 block of North Fifth Street, Ironton, is on going as investigators try to determine the cause of the fire. It happened on Jan. 10.

“Investigators are still attempting to locate the owner of the property,” Duchesne said. “Apparently, the structure was completely gutted by the fire. We are looking for anyone with information on this fire to contact our Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau at (800) 589-2728.”