A house fire early Sunday morning, contained mostly to the first floor of a multi-story rental complex on Stewart Street, left the property partly charred and Ohio University officials financially assisting students.
Athens Fire Department officials said the fire caused $225,000 in damages to the 10-bedroom house, which was leased to several Ohio University students who were not injured because no one was believed to be home at the time of the fire.
There was an additional $5,000 worth of damages to personal property inside the house.
The department was dispatched to 68 Stewart St. early Sunday morning in response to a report of a structural fire, Capt. George Klinger said.
The incident is under investigation by the Athens Police and Fire departments as well as the Ohio State Fire Marshall’s office. The fire department has yet to determine the cause of the blaze that likely occurred around 1 or 2 a.m., Sunday, Klinger said.
Officials could not provide any additional details as of press time.
OU Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones, who tweeted that she visited the house Sunday, said the university has been in contact with at least four students who had been displaced by the fire.
“The entire side was black, so it definitely had a lot of smoke damage,” Hall-Jones told
The Post
. “I looked at the door and everything I could see was black.”
She said the students were either temporarily staying on campus in residence halls or at the Holiday Inn Express, 555 E. State St.
The university and Pam Hines, of Hines Rentals, who county records show is the owner of the property, will contribute to paying for their hotel accommodations, Hall-Jones said. The university will offer the students some Bobcat Cash so they can eat meals at the dining halls, Hall-Jones said, as well as a Walmart gift card.
She wouldn’t comment on how much OU would spend in total because it wasn’t immediately clear how long the students would need to stay at the hotel.
As of press time it would cost $123.84 for two adults to spend one night in a room with two queen beds, according to online booking information on the hotel’s website.
The home, built in 1930 and remodeled in 2001, has a total valuation of $226,730, according to records from Athens County Auditor Jill Thompson’s website. The building has a total of 14 rooms, 10 of which are bedrooms, as well as four full bathrooms and a basement.
—Danielle Keeton-Olson contributed to this report.
@akarl_smith
as299810@ohiou.edu
