The Rossford Fire and Rescue Department, responded to an occupied residential house fire at 261 Riverside Rd. The time of the alarm was 0119 hours crews arrived in minutes to find the garage portion of the house fully involved. Northwood Fire department responded to the incident under a newly enacted automatic mutual aid agreement.
The homeowners, Dr.Shang And Mrs.Inda Rhee, were awaken to the sounds of the crackling fire. They attempted to evacuate the dwelling however, all normal exits were obstructed by fire and heavy smoke. The occupants then made a rope out of bed sheets in order to escape from the second floor bedroom. Both homeowners were treated and released from Toledo Hospital.
Firefighting efforts were hampered by high northeasterly winds which caused rapid fire spread. In total over sixty firefighters from Rossford, Northwood, Perrysburg City, Lake Township and Perrysburg Township were utilized. The fire was brought under control five hours later but not fully extinguished unit 0900 hours. Firefighters remained on the scene until early Thursday evening to guard against any small fires that may have rekindled. The State of Ohio Fire Marshal Investigative Unit was called into assist in determining a cause of the fire. The cause at this time is still under investigation. It has been determined that the fire started in the garage however, the exact cause at this time still remains under investigation. Preliminary damage estimate is said to be over one million dollars.
There were no firefighter injuries reported.
A secondary release will be made as soon as the investigation has been concluded or further information becomes available.
