One Middletown firefighter, Jason Meischke, injured his back during evacuation of the residence and was transported to Atrium Medical Center where he was treated and released, according to a report by the department.
A German shepherd, Gypsy, was found in the home and given oxygen by firefighters, and after the dog was taken to a local veterinarian, he was euthanized by the family, the report said.
Fire Marshal Bob Hess was on scene investigating the fire Wednesday night after firefighters doused the structure for nearly two hours. There was speculation at the scene from neighbors that a person who may have started the fire on the porch was taken into custody by Middletown police, but Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw said no one was arrested for arson.
Instead, he said, while en route to the fire, Middletown police were notified that a man later identified as Tony Wallace, 44, of Middletown, was seen running from the front yard of the fire. Wallace admitted to police that he stole a lawn mover from a home on Oxford State Road and sold it for heroin, according to the police report. He was charged with petty theft and remains in the city jail, police said.
Robert Neff and his family were scheduled to clean out his mother’s house Saturday morning, he said. But after the fire destroyed the house and all of its contents, those plans have obviously changed.
Neff, 57, said his mother, Betty Plowman, 86, lived in the house for a number of years but now resides in a local nursing home. Neff said his family moved into the house when he was a freshman in high school, and it was the first time he had indoor plumbing. Throughout the years, Neff said he made extensive renovations to the house.
“But now, that’s all gone,” he said. “This is a sad day.”
While firefighters continued to extinguish the fire, several of Neff’s grandchildren stood nearby and comforted each other.
It was the family’s plan to put the house up for sale after the contents were removed, he said.
According to Fire Chief Paul Lolli, firefighters were called out and found the home’s porch on fire upon arrival. Lolli said the fire appeared to go from the porch onto the first floor and spread to the second floor. At that point, firefighters were pulled back and went to a defensive posture, Lolli said.
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