HOYTVILLE, Ohio — Investigators are still trying to determine what caused an early-morning explosion today that destroyed a house in the 20000 block of Hancock Wood County Line Road near this Wood County community.

A family of five escaped unhurt, according to the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident occurred about 3:30 a.m. at 20518 Hancock Wood County Line in Wood County, a dispatcher said. The fire was extinguished by about 11:40 a.m., at which time fire crews left the scene, he said. 

Jackson Township Hoytville Fire Department investigators and an investigator from the state fire marshal’s office remained at the scene by late morning. A man who introduced himself as an assistant to fire chief Alan Davis but refused to give his name, said the cause of the explosion and fire remains under investigation.

Only uniformed people remained at the scene early today. Nothing remained of the structure except a charred front wall. At least one propane tank on the side of the house remained intact and debris was scattered for a few hundred yards around the house, which was surrounded by corn and soybean fields.

A damage estimate was not available. 

The incident occurred about a mile and a half south of Hoytville, which is about 35 miles south of Toledo.

Wood County records list Christine and Keith Siferd as the owners of the single-story wood frame house. It was built in 1992.

First Published September 14, 2015, 11:46 a.m.