3 dogs die in fire at Pleasant Twp. firefighter's home

A roaring fire Wednesday night heavily damaged a township firefighter's home and left the family's three dogs dead.

A state fire marshal's investigator will be at the home, in the 5600 block of Pleasant Chapel Road, on Thursday in an effort to pin down the cause of the fire.

Pleasant Twp. Fire Chief Mike Willis said a preliminary investigation traces the start of the fire to the kitchen.

"We're thinking maybe around the stove or microwave area... That's where it seemed like most of the damage, most of the burn, was," Willis said.

Crews were dispatched sometime after 7 p.m. and found heavy smoke coming from the structure and flames shooting through the roof and garage area.

The residents were not injured, but a firefighter from one of several area departments called to help fight the blaze suffered a heat-related injury not believed to be serious, Willis said.

Extra crews were called to the residence in eastern Clark County from Mechanicsburg and the townships of Harmony, Central and Moorefield because of the heat. Daytime temperatures in the region reached into the mid 90s, according to the National Weather Service.

Even with all the manpower, Willis said, it didn't take long for the firefighters to wear down.

"It took a toll," he said of the heat. "Water wasn't an issue. Manpower is the biggest thing that we needed, just to battle the heat."

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