Fire Marshal Bill Davin says the cause of a fire that completely destroyed a house at 74 Downs Road on Aug. 14 was started by "smoking materials" in a couch on the screened porch.
Three tenants made it out to safety when the fire started just after midnight. The woman awoke to the smell of smoke and her two male roommates were watching TV when they heard a noise.
Stevenson Assistant Fire Chief John Howe, the first firefighter on the scene, could see flames over the roof-line from the street when he arrived.
The fact that there are no hydrants in the Stevenson neighborhood posed a challenge to firefighters, who used a tanker to set up filling stations at a hydrant by Marian Heights, in the 1400 block of Route 111, and another by the Lake Zoar Boat ramp.
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