Abandoned building fire east of Hamden shuts down State Route 160

Firefighters in northern Vinton County spent much of Thursday morning battling an abandoned building fire that closed State Route 160 and drew help from across the county. The blaze broke out at 38744 State Route 160, about three miles east of the Village of Hamden, and the first call came in at about 6:10 a.m. When Hamden Volunteer Fire Department crews arrived, the two-story structure was already fully involved.

The road closure turned the incident into more than a routine outbuilding response. State Route 160 stayed shut down for about two hours while firefighters worked the scene and kept traffic away from the burning structure. Mutual aid came from the McArthur Fire Department, the Wellston Fire Department and the Coalton Volunteer Fire Department, underscoring how quickly a single fire can stretch volunteer departments in a county with 12,800 residents. Hamden itself had 727 residents at the 2020 census.

Along with the fire departments, Vinton County EMS, the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office, the Vinton County Emergency Management Agency and American Electric Power responded. The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office was contacted to review the fire, which means investigators will examine its cause, origin and circumstances after the immediate danger has passed. No injuries were reported in the dispatch information.

Later that same day, Hamden firefighters returned to the same address for a rekindle and found a small remaining fire. Crews extinguished it before clearing the scene again, a reminder that abandoned buildings can hold hidden fire long after the main blaze appears to be out.

The incident fits a larger pattern that matters in rural Vinton County, where abandoned or vacant buildings can turn into dangerous fire scenes with little warning. Under Ohio law, the State Fire Marshal investigates the cause, origin and circumstances of fires and explosions. The U.S. Fire Administration advises communities to monitor, secure, inspect, mark and review vacant and abandoned buildings to reduce arson and keep firefighters safer, and the National Fire Protection Association says vacant-building fires account for a disproportionate share of firefighter injuries.

That concern is especially sharp in and around Hamden, where State Route 160 ends in the village and any major fire east of town can cut off a key travel corridor. It also comes after the July 2025 fire at Hotel McArthur in nearby McArthur, an unoccupied blaze that put another aging Vinton County structure under the spotlight. In a county this small, every vacant building fire becomes a public-safety test for volunteers, road crews and investigators alike.