Fire destroys Dreher Lane home

A cigarette is the reported cause of a fire that swept through a Dreher Lane home Wednesday afternoon.

No injuries were reported, but the Paint Creek Joint Fire and Ambulance district said it anticipates the structure, in the Paint Creek Lake area, will be a total loss due to the heat and smoke damage the mobile home sustain.

According to Chief Bradley George, the department received the call to the 300 block of Dreher Lane at approximately 1:44 p.m. Wednesday.

"When we arrived on scene, we had smoke and flames showing," George said.

Crews had the fire contained within 20 minutes, he said.

Residents of the single-story home had exited by the time firefighters arrived.

Fire departments from Bainbridge, Wayne Township, and Leesburg were called for mutual aid to the scene, but were cancelled after the fire was quickly extinguished.

George said that a cigarette is believed to be the cause of the fire.

While the damage to the structure makes it inhabitable, George said, many possession in closets and other closed-off areas were able to be saved.

"One neighbor knew enough to keep the doors and windows shut," George said. "That Good Samaritan really saved a lot, because he shut the door on the side of the house where the wind was hitting."