Two injured in Perrysburg house fire

7/12/2018
BY ALLISON DUNN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
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    Crews responded to the blaze at a residence in the 1000 block of Hickory Street at approximately 6:50 a.m.

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  • This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. to include information from the scene of the fire. 

    State fire investigators are looking into whether a car parked in a garage caused the Perrysburg house fire that sent a man and his mother to the hospital early Thursday.

    Perrysburg firefighters responded shortly before 7 a.m. to a home in the 1000 block of Hickory Street after receiving a report of a garage fire and an explosion, Perrysburg Township Fire Chief Tom Brice said. When crews arrived, the attached garage was fully ablaze, the chief said. 

    Perrysburg Fire Chief Rudy Ruiz said the state’s fire marshal is focusing on a car parked in the garage as being the possible cause for the fire.

    Neighbors reported seeing heavy smoke coming from the residence. 

    An adult man and his mother were inside the residence at the time of the fire broke out. Their names were not immediately provided. 

    WATCH: Perrysburg firefighters respond to morning house fire

    The man was able to escape from the home, but his mother was rescued by fire crews, Chief Brice said.

    Amanda Queen, who lives across the street, said she awoke to the sound of sirens and flashing lights. She went outside to see what happened, but said she never heard an explosion. 

    Mrs. Queen said she saw the man, who was covered in black soot, sitting in the front yard being tended to by emergency crews. She did not immediately see his mother. 

    “I went back in the house for a few minutes and I came back out and I seen them doing chest compressions on her,” Mrs. Queen said about the woman. 

    Both victims were taken to to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, where the mother is reportedly in critical condition. 

    Charred pieces of siding hung from under the gutters and a heavily damaged car remained in the garage as emergency crews from both Perrysburg city and township, Rossford, and Maumee worked at the scene. The windows of the home remained intact. 

    Neighbors said generally, they see the man outside more than the elderly woman, but Mrs. Queen said the woman is on oxygen and may have a difficult time getting around. 

    “We’re just praying that they both recover,” Mrs. Queen said. 

    It does not appear any neighboring homes were damaged. 

    The fire remains under investigation.

    Contact Allison Dunn at adunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6506 or on Twitter @AllisonDBlade.