LEROY — A house in LeRoy was destroyed by fire Thursday.
The LeRoy and Chester fire departments, LeRoy Ambulance and Mower County Sheriff's deputies responded to the fire call at 6 a.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Main Street East in LeRoy.
According to the sheriff's report, the homeowner was asleep on the couch when he was awakened by the smell of smoke, and then he saw that his house was on fire. He tried to extinguish the blaze himself, but it got too big for him, so he left the house and called 911, according to Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi.
The fire marshal and detectives investigated. It is believed that the fire was caused by a Franklin-style wood stove that was not properly vented. The homeowner installed the stove himself three to four years ago, according to the report. The stove vented to the outside of the house through a homemade chimney.
