A call to a fire on Scrubgrass Road in Findley Township at about 9 a.m. Friday brought Mercer East End Fire Chief Bill Finley Jr. face to face with his parents' home ablaze.

Volunteers from five departments worked for more than half an hour to control the blaze, the chief said, adding a fire marshal said a malfunctioning rechargeable light in the first-floor hallway likely sparked the fire.

The three-bedroom home of William and Joy Finley is probably a total loss, the chief said, adding the monetary loss is well over $100,000. His parents and 19-year-old brother Brian weren't home at the time and a dog inside the house was rescued, Finley said.

Finley Jr. said his parents are in good spirits and, he said, they have been through this before.

A fire on New Year's Eve 1986 destroyed the Finleys' renovated home in Mercer.

"I hope this is it," Finley Jr. said, adding that his parents' home at 1744 Scrubgrass Road sustained smoke damage throughout and 30 percent of it was burned. Firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to control the fire.

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