By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A fire that broke out this morning at a vacant home for sale north of Toledo is under investigation.
Members of four departments responded to the approximately 5:30 a.m. call to the 300 block of Howe Road, off Spencer Road, according to Lewis County Fire District 2.
“The fire was through the roof when I got here, it was obviously an empty house, so it was pretty much a defensive attack,” District 2 Fire Chief Dave Germain said.
Germain said the residence, which he estimated at perhaps 1,600 square feet, is mostly destroyed. A roof remains over the back two bedrooms, he said.
Germain, a longtime Toledo resident who is retired after 27 years with the Tacoma Fire Department, took on the position as part time chief of District 2 last Wednesday.
There are no other residences nearby, he said. A fire investigator was on the scene this morning.
“It certainly would appear to be questionable, with no electricity and there’s nobody living in the home,” Germain said.