A fire started Friday at a structure containing three apartments on South Elizabeth Street, resulting in the death of three pets and the total loss of the apartment.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — A fire at 716 1/2 S. Elizabeth St. on Friday afternoon most likely started because the kitchen oven was accidentally turned on, according to Lima Fire Investigator Joe Lombardo.
The structure — which the Allen County Auditor’s website said is owned by Hometown Investments LLC — contains three apartments. Lombardo said the woman who lived at 716 1/2, Zoe Flowers, was at work when the fire occurred. A neighbor — which Lima Fire Capt. Kevin Clark identified as Robert Valentine — reported the fire and kicked down the door before firefighters arrived to make sure no one was inside.
There were five cats and two dogs in the building, and Clark said one dog and two cats died. Firefighters administered oxygen to the rest. No injuries were reported, but Clark said a firefighter was transported to St. Rita’s Medical Center for possible dehydration.
Clark said Flowers’ apartment was a total loss and the 716 S. Elizabeth St. apartment had water damage. He valued the structure at $30,000 and said it would cost more than $30,000 to fix Flowers’ apartment. He said everyone who lived in the building was displaced, totaling seven people. Firefighters put out the fire within a few minutes, he said.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
