December 21, 2016 - The Center Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Center Street on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 6:20am.
When the firemen arrived at the former office of C&R Refrigeration, 405 Center Street, one end of the building was on fire. The firemen extinguished the flames and kept the fire consolidated to the attic area of the building.
This was followed by ventilating the building with a fan to evacuate any remaining smoke. AEP SWEPCO was dispatched to the scene to make sure the building was disconnected of any power supply and just previous to their arrival, sparks were seen bursting from power lines across the street from the building.
Once the fire was extinguished, the firemen returned to the station at 8am. Upon further investigation by AEP SWEPCO, it was determined the cause of the fire may have emanated from a neighboring property located on Crockett Street.
The firemen returned to the location and gained permission from the property owner to enter and as the representatives of AEP SWEPCO took a closer look, it was obvious someone had been attempting to cut the power line at the top of a utility pole on the property with some metal cutters.
Center Police Officers were requested to the scene and an investigation began into the incident. AEP SWEPCO helped the police officers to retrieve the cutters and further evidence was gathered at the scene by detectives.
No further information is available at this time and both the fire and attempted theft of the power lines remains under investigation.
