Saturday, November 21, 1998
Arson suspected in house fire
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
The cause of a Thursday afternoon house fire near downtown is being called arson by fire officials.
''Right now, it is definitley suspicious,'' Tiffin Fire Chief William Ennis said. ''No ideas yet as to who - they are going to be looking around for that.''
Firefighters were called at 3:38 p.m. Thursday to 205 Front St. The structure is a small two-room house at the corner of Third and Front streets, firefighter Tom Bishop said.
The house was owned by Joan Chaney, but it did not have a regular resident, Bishop said.
''She owns the house and goes down there once in a while,'' Bishop said. Chaney owns several properties around town, he said.
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control in about 15 minutes, but there was heavy smoke damage throughout because the house was so small, Bishop said.
Kids on their way home from school reported the fire, he said.
An investigator from the Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office and detectives from the Tiffin Police Department were called to the scene.