Barn 'fully engulfed' near Toledo casino

Fire departments from 5 municipalities respond

7/21/2014
BY STEPHEN GRUBER-MILLER
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Firefighters responded on Sunday night to a fire at 181 E Andrus Rd. in East Toledo that left a barn "fully engulfed" in flames.

Northwood, Rossford, Lake Township, Perrysburg, and Oregon responded to the blaze, which destroyed the barn of Charlie Zeltner.

Officials got a call about 9:30 p.m. warning them of the fire, and responded within five to six minutes, according to Northwood police Sgt. Gary Suto.

Nobody was known to be injured in the blaze and officials said the cause was still under investigation.

"There were a couple explosions inside, but we don't know what it was from," Sergeant Suto said.

Sergeant Suto could not say whether additional structures had caught fire, but said he knew there were other barns near the blaze. The barn that burned was believed to be vacant.

Flames and smoke filled the sky, attracting dozens of onlookers. Nearby residents Spring Stanford, 24, and Alexandra Bill, 18, were out for a walk when they saw the fire.

"It spread quick," Ms. Stanford said. "It was huge."

"It is by my house, which is kind of scary," she added.

Others, like Jordan Johnson, 23, of Walbridge, were confident that the fire was under control.

"Makes you feel pretty safe the way they responded," he said.

Contact Stephen Gruber-Miller at: smiller@theblade.com, 419-724-6050, or on Twitter @sgrubermiller.