Parkersburg firefighters extinguished a blaze Thursday morning in the 1200 block of Laird Avenue, the latest in a series of recent incidents involving fires in vacant structures as people seek shelter from the cold.
The house at 1210 Laird Ave. had “no utilities, vacant home, squatters had been staying there,” Parkersburg Fire Chief Jason Matthews said Thursday. “It appears like some of the other ones, people in there trying to stay warm.”
Firefighters were dispatched at 6:28 a.m. Thursday and arrived on scene within five minutes, Matthews said. Although the flames were doused in about 10 minutes, the chief estimated smoke and water damage could amount to tens of thousands of dollars.