Fire does extensive damage to home

SHEFFIELD - Sheffield firefighters said an afternoon fire roared through a two-story house Wednesday doing major damage before they could get it under control.

"No one was home; that's the good thing," said Sheffield Fire Inspector Terry Lenz. "I understand there was someone just moving in."

Firefighters were called to the residence at the corner of Austin Avenue and West Eighth Street at 3 p.m.

"A neighbor said he saw smoke and flames coming out of the roof and called 911," said Sheffield Fire Chief Dewey King.

King said when firefighters arrived at the residence, smoke was billowing out and flames were shooting out the top of the house and through the windows.

"I was just sitting at home and heard the sirens," said neighbor Eve Styles. "The sirens kept getting louder and louder. I decided I had better look to see what was going on and when I looked out of my window, I saw the flames and saw police running toward the house making sure no one was inside."

King said firefighters made an aggressive attack on the house and were able to get the fire out within about 40 minutes of arriving on the scene.

The fire, however, spread quickly in the house, which had been converted into two apartments, causing extensive damage, King said.

"We threw a lot of water on it and were able to get it under control and not spread to any other structures," the chief said.

No one was injured.

"There's no way to know right now" what caused the fire, King said.

"Once it cools down a little, I'll be able to go in and look around to try and determine what happened," Lenz added.

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.