NORWAY — One firefighter was injured battling a fire that destroyed a home on Wiley Road on Monday afternoon.
Fire Chief Dennis Yates said the unnamed Norway firefighter was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital where he was treated for a leg injury and later released.
About 30 firefighters from Norway, Paris, Harrison, Oxford and Waterford fought the quick-moving fire that gutted the two-story, wood framed house at 422 Wiley Road Monday afternoon about 4 p.m. The home is owned by Jennifer Stevens and her family.
“It was pretty much involved when we got there,” said Yates, shortly after returning to the fire station after 9 p.m. “It was a fast-moving fire.”
Yates said the roof collapsed early on and had to be pulled off by an excavator to get to burning rubble.
He said a woman believed to be the owner’s mother was inside the home at the time of the fire. She smelled an odor that eventually dissipated, but later saw a glow in a first floor closet and ran to get water. When she returned, flames were shooting from the closet and she ran outside carrying a dog, the chief said.
Neighbor Donald Ware of 15 Dunn Road said the woman who lived in the house ran to his home to call in the fire. Ware said she may have lost one or two dogs in the fire. The woman was seen holding a small dog as she spoke with emergency personnel at the scene.
Ware’s wife, Hilary, said the victims were fairly new to the neighborhood and were remodeling the home at the time of the fire. A new outbuilding and a Halloween decoration in the front yard were undamaged.
She said she believes the woman lived with her husband, at least one child, her mother and two other male family members.
Hilary Ware said she was not overly worried about hot embers endangering her home. Several other homes are also located near the destroyed house, which is believed to have been built in the 1800s.
“It wasn’t very windy and we noticed there were not many embers,” Hilary Ware said. “They did a beautiful job,” she said of the firefighters at the scene.
The state fire marshal was at the scene Monday night.
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treaves@ sunjournal.com
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- Norway firefighters battle a blaze on Wiley Road at the four-way intersection with Dunn, French and Morse roads on Monday afternoon. The 1800s house was destroyed.
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- Norway firefighters battle a blaze on Wiley Road at the four-way intersection with Dunn, French and Morse roads Monday afternoon. The 1800s house was destroyed. Paris, Oxford, Harrison and Waterford firefighters also responded to the fire.
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- A woman holds a small dog after escaping the burning home on Wiley Road in Norway on Monday afternoon. The 1800s house was destroyed.
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- Norway firefighters battle a blaze on the corner of French and Wiley roads in Norway on Monday. No one was hurt in the fire. Paris, Oxford, Harrison and Waterford firefighters also responded to the fire.
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