Fire Destroys House on Priem Road

Fire destroyed a house on Priem Road early Friday morning, officials said.

No one was home at the time and no injuries were reported.

It was the second major house fire in Strongsville last week, following .

Fire Chief Jeff Branic said a neighbor reported a fire in the woods off Priem Road about 12:30 a.m., followed by a call from another resident who said a house was burning.

Firefighters found the home at 9889 Priem Rd., which sits back from the road about 500 feet, fully involved with fire.

Crews laid about 500 feet of line down the driveway and deployed a deck gun, which delivers about 500 gallons of water a minute, to slow the fire's advance.

No vehicles were in the driveway or garage.

"Fortunately no one was in the home; fire conditions would not have been survivable," Branic said.

Five Stongsville fire units were called to the scene, as were units from Berea, Middleburg Heights and Olmsted Falls.

The fire was under control by 1 a.m., Branic said. The house is a total loss, with damage estimated at $275,000.

Cause has not been determined. Branic said Strongsville fire investigators were joined in the probe by the Southwest Emergency Response Team and later by the state fire marshal's office, due to the complexity of the fire scene.

Interviews are still being conducted. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the Strongsville Fire Department at 440-580-3210 and ask to speak with the shift commander.

The  was determined to be accidental.

That blaze, which started about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, originated in the front right side of the garage, Branic said. 

The ignition source is still under investigation.

The fire spread quickly from the detached garage to the back of the house. A woman and her daughter were able to escape the home uninjured, but the house was not livable.

Two Strongsville firefighters were treated and released from the hospital after the fire was put out.

One of the family's three cats was rescued from the house and one died, officials said. The third was missing, but a reader reported on Strongsville Patch's Facebook page that the kitty has been found uninjured, hiding under a bed.