1 dead in Ottawa County house fire

4/16/2013
BLADE STAFF

OAK HARBOR -- Firefighters recovered a body from a Benton Township house fire today.

Allen-Clay Joint Fire District Chief Bruce Moritz said one person was found dead in the blaze that destroyed a two-story brick farmhouse on Duff-Washa Road, about seven miles north of Oak Harbor in Ottawa County.

Authorities have not released the identity of the person found. Chief Moritz said only one person was in the house at the time of the fire. The state fire marshal and Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the fire, reported at 3:49 a.m.

Chief Moritz said firefighters arrived to find the house fully engulfed. The fire was under control by 5:30 a.m., he said.