Adams St. fire under investigation

SANDUSKY — Sandusky fire investigators are still trying to determine what caused a multi-unit house fire earlier this week. Just after 3 a.m. Monday, firefighters were dispatched to the 1000 block of W. Adams St. for a report of a structure fire. They arrived to find a set of row houses with flames erupting from the attic window of the first unit. Firefighters entered the first unit and went upstairs to access the attic. Flames were quickly knocked down and smoke began to emanate from the window. Within a few minutes, conditions changed at the chimney line above the second and third units, according to a Sandusky fire incident report. Sandusky fire Capt. Matt Cox then assigned a Perkins fire crew to get a look at the top of the second unit. Shortly thereafter, they reported fire spreading in both directions. Two firefighters were then sent back to the station to get the department's tower truck. Once it was on scene, the tower was lifted, avoiding myriad power lines in the area, and began applying water to the fire from two water cannons. Huron fire was called in as a precaution. They set up their tower truck on McDonough Street, but did not need to use its water cannons. Five families from four units safely evacuated and the Red Cross arrived to assist them with temporary housing. No injuries were reported, according to Sandusky fire Capt. Matt Lesch. The building has nine units. Five were condemned as a result of the fire. Those five units were considered total losses, totaling $750,000 for property and $120,000 for contents. The last unit was cleared from the scene at noon Monday.