House fire in Brunswick impacted by high winds

BRUNSWICK — A house fire in Brunswick on Sunday was made more difficult to extinguish because of the high winds. Brunswick Fire Chief Greg Glauner said the fire occurred just before 3 p.m. Sunday on Monte Vista Drive. The fire started in the living room, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. "The fire ripped through the house," he said. "That's because it was wind driven. There was extensive damage on both the first and second floor. The roof burned off before we even got there." Glauner estimated there was at least $300,000 worth of damage to the home. The fire was under control in about 20 minutes or less and was totally extinguished in a couple hours with the assistance of mutual aid partners. "It began to extend to the next door neighbor's house, but we stopped that," he said. "They used a deck gun on it, which is a large water appliance to knock the main body of fire down. Large diameter hoses were used to contain it, which they did." One person had minor injuries but did not need to be taken to the hospital, Glauner said. A rabbit and two cats died in the fire. Medina County was under a wind advisory from 2 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday. The National Weather Service Cleveland stated gusts of up to 50 mph were expected in regions with a wind advisory. "You could easily say it was more than 10 times the average (amount of calls), and you'd be well within that number due to the wind knocking trees down and power lines, wires on metal fences and roofs being ripped off," Glauner said. "We only had one fire, and that certainly was unfortunate in and of itself." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.