Thursday, March 14, 20224 - Capsule reports

Home destroyed

A Dunkirk couple’s home was destroyed Tuesday in a fire.

Dunkirk Fire Department responded to a call to 617 S. Main St. about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday. The two-story house quickly became engulfed in flames, according to the fire department.

A neighbor told emergency personnel he heard a “big bang” and noticed the back of the house on fire. He ran inside to alert homeowner Keith Renner and his wife, who had been cooking supper on an electric range in the kitchen at the back of the house when she smelled smoke.

Firefighters from Albany, Redkey, Pennville and Eaton fire departments also responded to the scene, getting the flames under control by about 6 p.m. Tuesday. Dunkirk Fire Department stayed on scene for another two and a half hours.

The house was destroyed in the fire — what was left of the structure was removed Wednesday for safety reasons — and a garage on the property was also destroyed. Some heat damage also spread to adjacent houses.

According to the fire department, the Renners did not have insurance on the structure or its contents.

BZA elects

Portland Board of Zoning Appeals met briefly Tuesday to elect officers.

Larry Petro was elected chair with Aaron Loy as vice chair and Kyle Cook as secretary. The board has two new members, with Ron Laux replacing the late Lee Newman and Virginia Burkey willing a seat following the resignation of Connie Roberts.

Pati McLaughlin was appointed as reporting secretary.

McLaughlin also provided the board members with reminders of the criteria they are required to utilize in order to make decisions on zoning variances.