Firefighters from Griswold and Lewis responded to a residential fire in Griswold Tuesday morning. The call about smoke coming from 207 W. 2nd Street came in just before 9:30-a.m.  Griswold Assistant Fire Chief Jim Wyman told KJAN News he knew right away where the fire was at, because he lives just two houses away.

He said when he was heading to work he thought he saw steam coming from a steel portion of the roof at around 7:15-a.m. The steam typically occurs when the sun hits moisture on the roof. He stopped and took a look, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He said all they know at this point was that the fire started in the basement, but they don’t know why. The home had no electricity, no water, and was vacant. In addition, the doors were locked.

There was no furniture in the house, either. One firefighter was hurt when he took a tumble. The man was standing on a ceiling joist when he slipped and fell to the floor. After being checked out, he was back at work inside the home pulling out drywall.

Wyman said the home was pretty much destroyed from the center of the house to the roof. He said also, the house has been vacant for about 90 days, when the persons who were renting-to-buy it, was evicted. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.