Mill Township home lost to fire Wednesday afternoon; five departments battled blaze

This story was updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy and to add additional information .

MILL TOWNSHIP – Firefighters from five Tuscarawas County stations responded to fight a residential structure fire in the 4000 block of Gatchell Road SE, just outside Uhrichsville on Wednesday.

What started as a call to 911 for an appliance fire at noon quickly escalated to a first alarm fire as responding units could see smoke on the horizon.

Led by Dennison Assistant Chief Jim Shamel , multiple requests were made for water tankers to begin shuttling water to the rural location.

An interior attack was made while firefighters also searched for anyone potentially inside. As the search ended the firefighters were quickly called out as a defensive attack was taken due to the fire rapidly spreading to the basement, ground level and second story.

Dennison FD Chief Dave McConnell said the mother of the resident, who was not home, called in the fire. She went over to the the house, which is next door, and attempted to light the fuel oil, and the fire spread everywhere from there. "A trackhoe was called in from the township, and the house was knocked in, because there was too much fire in void spaces. It continues to smolder."

Firefighters on scene mentioned the fire being everywhere – in the walls, ceiling and basement.

Deputies from the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department as well as medics from Smith Ambulance also assisted firefighters from Dennison, Uhrichsville, Arrowhead Joint Fire District, Warwick Township and Rush Township at the scene.

No injuries were reported.

T-R staff photographer Andrew Dolph can be reached by phone at 330-289-6072, or by email at adolph3@gannett.com . You can also find him on Instagram @dolphphoto .

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Mill Township home lost to fire Wednesday afternoon; five departments battled blaze