Staff writer
An unoccupied house at 304 Miller St. in Marion was a total loss in a Thursday afternoon fire, but the family who lived there had already moved out their belongings.
Bret Stultz, who lived in the rental house until he and his family recently moved to a house on Freeborn St., said most everything had been moved out. He said only a few items such as paint remained in the house.
Chrissy McFall, who with her husband, Joey, owns the house where the Stultz family lived, said she was glad the house was vacant.
“This is the best-case scenario,” she said. “At least no one was there.”
The 914-square-foot house, with a second floor over half of it, had a kitchen, laundry room, dining room, a bedroom downstairs a large, open bedroom upstairs, and a bathroom.
Stultz said he drove back from checking his old mailbox a block west of the house and first thought he saw blowing dust from a neighbor mowing a lawn. Then he realized what he saw was smoke.
During the early stages of the fire, thinner smoke billowed from the attic area at the front of the house while thick, dark smoke billowed from the rear of the attic.
The fire eventually spread, with smoke at the front becoming darker and flames eventually bursting through the roof.
The fire was fought by Marion, Florence, Hillsboro, and Peabody firefighters.
Firefighters entered the back door of the house at 2:25 p.m. and had the fire mostly knocked down 10 minutes later.