Early morning blaze destroys Columbus home

A South Drive home in Columbus was a complete loss after a fire over the weekend.

A homeowner was awakened by a smoke alarm at about 4:08 a.m. Saturday morning in the 1500 block of South Drive and found heavy smoke coming from the basement. He escaped with a dog and a cat before firefighters arrived. Columbus firefighters tried to fight the blaze in the basement but with no visibility and increasing heat and smoke, firefighters backed off to attack the fire from outside.

The fire burned through the basement into the ground floor and eventually the attic and roof, says Capt. Mike Wilson with the Columbus Fire Department.

After getting the fire under control at about 6:30 in the morning, firefighters stayed on scene for a total of about 10 hours fighting hot spots and flare-ups, Wilson says.

The homeowner’s wife and children were away from home at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported. One cat remains unaccounted for. Damages are estimated at $270,000.