A firefighter was recovered in the basement of a Willard home after responding to a house fire Wednesday night.
John Saunders, 41, a Tri-Community Joint Fire Department firefighter, responded to the fire in the 700 block of U.S. Route 224 in Willard where a caller reported smoke coming from the home just after 10 p.m.
According to Fox8.com, the occupants were not at home at the time of the fire.
The Huron County Coroner’s Office said Saunders was found in the basement and was investigating the cause of the fire.
In a photo on WYKC.com, the fire involved a single-story residential dwelling.
"It is with great sadness today. Please keep the Tri-Community Fire Department in your thoughts and prayers as they morn the loss of one of their own," Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin issued in a statement.
Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Huron County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau were dispatched to assist with the investigation.
The Tri-Community Joint Fire Department is based in north central Ohio and protects residents in Greenwich and Ripley townships.
Peter Matthews | Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director
Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department.
