Athens City Fire responded to a call at a local homeless shelter Monday afternoon after a fire started in the building’s laundry room, according to officials.
The fire occurred at the Timothy House, a homeless shelter run by Good Works at 91 Central Ave.
No injuries were reported, and the fire is still under investigation, said James Knapp, a firefighter with the Athens Fire Department. He could not provide details on damage to the property or the size or scope of the fire as of press time.
American Electric Power and Columbia Gas were also called to the scene to shut off all utilities at the site.
“Firefighters routinely call utility companies to shut off service when there has been a significant fire,” said Dave Rau, spokesman for Columbia Gas of Ohio. “You can imagine the danger that might result from firefighters coming in contact with live wires, for example.
AEP Ohio responded for a similar reason said spokesman Jeff Rennie.
Rennie added that the provider routinely gets called to fires by fire departments and the company complies with requests.
The homeless shelter was last appraised at $141,820.00, according to records on the Athens County Auditor’s website.
@akarl_smith
as299810@ohiou.edu
