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Highlands Today

Warren House Condemned

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: August 22, 2008

SEBRING - The Warren House, located at 265 Pomegranate Ave., which burned Tuesday afternoon due to arson during Tropical Storm Fay, was condemned by city of Sebring Building Official Ed White on Thursday.

Sam Venzeio, spokesman with the state Fire Marshal's Office, said it was listed as a suspicious arson fire, incendiary in nature, in other words the fire was set.

"It was a two-story wood-frame house, unoccupied, vacant, the owner was out of state," he said. "It didn't start by itself."

The state fire marshal listed the damage at $60,000.

White said the owner, Ralph Hofmann, who is in Pittsburgh, Penn., plans to tear down the house.

He said Sebring Fire Rescue Chief Brad Batz was right in his assessment of the damage to the structure.

"The house is 70 percent or better destroyed," White said. "The structural two-by-fours are burned clear all the way into the roof."

The floors are unsafe to walk on, the roof is burned.

"It's a crispy critter," he said. "I'd rather see the house fixed and someone living in it."

Lorida Fire Still Under Investigation

A second house fire that occurred at 617 Serene Lane in Lorida on Tuesday morning, remained under investigation, according to Venzeio.

"It was a single-story wood-frame home," he said. "No one was at home."

The fire marshal estimated the loss at $125,000.

Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com .

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