An accidental fire severely damaged a house on Hillcrest Street in Parkersburg Tuesday morning.
Owner Steve Mays and his family were able to get out of their home at 905 Hillcrest St. safely, but one of their cats died in the blaze, Parkersburg Fire Capt. Jim Tracewell said.
The fire was reported at 10:47 a.m. Firefighters determined it started accidentally when the family was attempting to start a fire in their wood-burning stove, Tracewell said.
Crews remained on the scene for about two hours to make sure the fire was completely extinguished.
“There was a lot of wind pushing the fire into crevices and making it harder to put out the hot spots,” Tracewell said.
Tracewell said the home sustained approximately $65,000 in damage.