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Tefft Street house collapses in fire, no injuries reported

A fire at 915 Tefft St. Saturday caused the structure to collapse on itself as crews from the Parkersburg Fire Department worked to contain the blaze. Parkersburg Fire Department Chief Jason Matthews said the house was abandoned and was on the city’s demolition list. He said no one was inside during the fire or the collapse. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG – A structure fire at 915 Tefft St. Saturday caused the house to collapse on itself as crews from the Parkersburg Fire Department worked to contain the blaze.

Parkersburg Fire Department Chief Jason Matthews said the house was abandoned at the time of the fire and that he believes the structure was “next” on the city’s demolition list. He said no one was inside during the fire or the collapse.

Matthews said the call came in around 1:44 p.m. and crews were on scene within a few minutes. He said there was heavy fire throughout the house and crews began a defensive attack on the structure. He said a ladder truck was also brought in to help battle the blaze.

Matthews said the fire weakened the structure of the house and that the weight of the large volumes of water caused it to collapse around 2:40 p.m releasing a plume of white smoke.

He said the collapse will make it difficult to determine the cause of the fire, and that they will have to rely on interviews done by the Parkersburg Police Department, who were on scene, to narrow down the causes. He said he heard one witness say they saw an individual leaving the house before the fire began.

A house at 915 Tefft St. caught fire Saturday afternoon and would later collapse as crews from the Parkersburg Fire Department worked to contain the blaze. Parkersburg Fire Department Chief Jason Matthews said the house was abandoned and was on the city’s demolition list. He said no one was inside during the fire or the collapse. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Crews from Camden Clark Ambulance Service were also on scene but no injuries were reported.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

Crews from the Parkersburg Fire Department continue to spray water on the house at 915 Tefft St. Saturday after the structure collapsed. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

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