MENTOR, Ohio — Officials in Lake County are investigating a residential fire that led to explosions felt by multiple other residents in the area.
Around 10:17 a.m. on Thursday morning officials with Mentor Fire responded to a home in the 8000 block of Center Street for a "resident fire alarm." While en route to the scene, dispatch received multiple calls for explosions and columns of smoke in the area.
At the scene, firefighters reported that a large, attached two-car garage was fully engulfed in flames. Officials determined that a defensive strategy was necessary in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading to the main home.
Officials searched the main home and no occupants were located inside.
Dominion and CEI were dispatched to the scene to cut off gas and electrical service to the building, as there was gas feeding the fire following the earlier explosions.
In total, five engines responded to assist with extinguishing the blaze.
“Fire crews did an excellent job to keep fire from extending into the home,” said Searles, “It’s unlikely that the fire could have been controlled without extension into the main house, without assistance from neighboring communities. We thank them all for their support, especially Kirtland Fire Chief Hutton, who arrived on scene early into the incident and assisted our incident commander with the initial scene management.”
Willoughby, Leroy Township, Kirtland, Painesville Township, Willoughby Hills, Eastlake, Wickliffe, Painesville City, and Willowick fire departments assisted in controlling the fire.
According to dispatch, more than 50 calls were made by residents who had felt the explosions and the fire's plume could be seen from over a mile away.
No injuries from the fire were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
*Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from a previous, unrelated report.
