Cause of Convoy house fire undetermined

VW independent staff

The cause of a devastating early April house fire in Convoy remains undetermined, but it may have been electrical in nature.

“The cause of the fire at the Lare Rd. home was not determined, but electrical in the ceiling could not be ruled out as a cause,” Ohio Fire Marshal spokeman Jarrod Clay said. “Nothing suspicious was found during the investigation.”

The fire occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 9. No one was in the home when the fire was reported by a passerby. When the Convoy Fire Deepartment arrived, smoke was coming from the eaves of the home and flames became visible through windows on the west side of the home. Mutual aid was provided by Van Wert, Payne, Wren and Monroeville (IN).

The visible fire was extinguished through the windows and a door. As crews made entry and attempted to go up a stairwell, the fire flared back up, causing injuries to two Convoy firefighters – Chaise Dawson and Jake Hicks. Dawson suffered third degree burns and was taken to an Indianapolis hospital. He subsequently had skin graft surgery and returned home earlier this week and continues to recover. Hicks suffered lesser injuries and was treated and released from a Fort Wayne hospital.

Firefighers were called back to the scene at 4:30 a.m. the next day, after the blaze rekindled and had to be extinguished again.