Meridale fire is 'suspicious'

Staff Report

June 20, 2009 04:00 am

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A fire that gutted a vacant Meridale house Friday morning is being investigated as suspicious in origin, a Delaware County fire official said.

The house at 8981 State Route 28 was owned by the estate of Monty and Roxanne Hitchcock, said county fire investigator James Olmstead. He was not sure whether there was insurance.

The fire was called in shortly after 1 a.m. by a passerby, he said.

It started in a back room on the side of the house, Olmstead said, and did a lot of damage. The structure will have to be knocked down, he said.

The fire is being treated as suspicious because "we could determine where the fire started but not the cause," he said.

A dog from the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control was at the scene Friday, but there were no hits, Olmstead said.

The investigation will look at whether the fire is related to a suspicious blaze June 12 in Delhi and several others in the area, he said.

The Meridale Fire Department received mutual aid from Franklin, Delhi, Treadwell and East Meredith.