Home destroyed, dog killed in fire

GALION - A man lost both his home and his dog to a fire on Pfeifer Street Thursday.

No one was home when the fire started, and the cause of the fire, which occurred around 10:15 a.m. Thursday at 825 Pfeifer Street, remains under investigation. 

Galion Fair Department arrived to find heavy fire coming from second-story windows of the two-story home. The homeowner had already arrived and retrieved his dog from a first-floor kennel, but the dog died, according to the fire department's report.

It took more than three hours for firefighters to contain the blaze, according to the report. The first floor kitchen, entire second floor and entire attic were heavily damaged by flames. 

While working to extinguish the blaze, firefighters heard "a lot of small explosions." The homeowner told them he had several thousand rounds of ammunition in an open safe upstairs. 

The American Red Cross North Central Ohio Chapter responded to the fire to assist the homeowner and released a statement urging people to visit redcross.org/homefires to learn how to protect themselves and their loved homes from fire. 

The fire remained under investigation Friday. 

cmcnaull@gannett.com

419-521-7220

Twitter: @courtneymcnaull