It all began with a small fire underneath the kitchen sink of this two-story home on Maple Street. But for the Leftwich family, the problems were just beginning. no sooner was that fire put out, than another, larger fire began.
"They got it out, and it was just a little smoky," said Regina Leftwich, whose parents are the home's occupants, "so we opened up the windows and the doors, and let it air out so we could back and clean it later. And we got a call five minutes later that it started up again."
The Belpre Fire Department had just returned to its station when the second fire was reported, a fire larger than the first one.
"We couldn't find anything else, and about 45 minutes to an hour later, they said there was fire coming out of the house," said Bob Frank, Belpre Volunteer Fire Chief.
The Leftwich family is active in local sports, Regina's father, Dirk Leftwich, is an assistant Belpre high school football coach.
The family had planned to paint inside the home Friday, and had removed everyone, including the family pets.
"That was our main concern, the people and the animals," Regina Leftwich said. "We can always get new things, but people you can't replace."
chief frank says the fire is accidental, and may have been electrical.
the little hocking volunteer fire department helped supply manpower to help belpre fight the second fire.
