Crime & Safety

Fire Guts House On Orchard Road In Mentor (Updated)

Firefighters monitored house overnight to make sure flare ups did not spread to neighboring homes

Updated with donation information at 12:30 p.m.

Despite efforts by about a dozen Lake County fire departments, fire destroyed the house at 4774 Orchard Drive in the Mentor Headlands neighborhood.

By Wednesday morning, the inside of the house was gutted and the roof had collapsed.

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Though no estimate has been given as to how much damage the fire did, the house is likely unsalvageable.

Mentor firefighters monitored the house from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning to douse flare-ups and make sure any flames didn't spread to nearby houses.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Firefighters battled with the flames throughout Tuesday afternoon, evening and night.

Authorities believe the fire was accidental and started with food that was left on the stove, Battalion Chief Kevin Edmond said.

The woman who lives in the home is safe, Mentor Fire Public Information Officer Nathan Peters said.

She had left their house earlier today and when she returned Tuesday afternoon, she found it on fire, Peters said. She evacuated the house safely and called the fire department for help.

A cat that lives in the home was not found Tuesday.

The Mentor Fire Department initially received the call for help at about 2:25 p.m. Tuesday. They arrived soon thereafter and already saw flames coming out of three of the windows, Edmond said.

Firefighters entered the home and tried to fight the blaze from the inside, but the high winds outside and the amount of clutter inside the house made it dangerous, Edmond said.

The firefighters decided to evacuate, concerned that the fire might trap them inside.

Consequently, firefighters went to an external attack -- spraying the house with water from the outside, Edmond said.

At 4 p.m., Edmond guessed that firefighters would be fighting the blaze for the next six to eight hours. However, even those estimates were exceeded.

Fire Departments from Willoughby, Wickliffe, Eastlake, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Concord Township, Kirtland, Grand River, Fairport Harbor, Painesville and Painesville Township helped -- either by sending firefighters to Orchard Road or having them cover Mentor fire stations while the Mentor firefighters were at the fire.

The firefighters at the Orchard Road fire took turns so no one got exhausted or hurt, Edmond said.

Donations for the woman who lost her home are being collected at the Mentor AMVETs Post 40.

Her pant size is 14-16; her shirt size, large or extra large.

Any other donations besides clothes are welcome, as well.


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