scranton welcomeA Scranton home was nearly destroyed by a fire Thursday afternoon.

According to the Greene County Sheriff’s office, deputies and the sheriff, along with the Scranton Fire Department and Greene County Emergency Medical Services responded to the fire just after 1pm in the 800 block of Lincoln Street. Scranton Fire Chief Doug Duff tells Raccoon Valley Radio a passerby reported seeing smoke coming out of the one-story home. Duff says no one was home at the time of the incident and when they entered the rental property, they opened a wall in the kitchen and found flames inside the wall.

Duff notes that were able to put out the flames, but there was severe damage to the kitchen and the upper attic area, with smoke damage throughout the rest of the home. He adds that two dogs also perished in the fire, but no one else was hurt. Duff says the fire originated in the kitchen wall wiring, which was caused by an electrical malfunction.

Crews battled the fire for three hours.