Fire heavily damages Martin City rental home

Firefighters from Martin City and Bad Rock battled a house fire Feb. 7 about 8:30 a.m. on Sixth Street North in Martin City.

The fire started in a rental home owned by Holly Harshbarger. No one was injured, but the home was a total loss.

Harshbarger said the house was about 70 years old.

Martin City Fire Chief Tom Torpen said the fire appeared to have started from a heat tape under the floor that melted through. The fire, he said, started in the floor and spread through the house. He said a fire investigator from the homeowner’s insurance company would make a final determination, however.

The renters were not home at the time and had moved out the day before. The home had no furniture in it, which kept it from being engulfed in flames, Torpen noted.