Former Youngstown councilman Lenny Yurcho stands near what is left of a house at North Belle Vista Avenue and Burbank Avenue that was destroyed in an early Monday fire. He said he doesn’t want the city to allow the fire scene to turn into a longtime eyesore for the West Side. Farther back is the house next door, where vinyl siding was badly damaged. Staff photo / Ed Runyan

YOUNGSTOWN — A devastating house fire Monday morning at the corner of North Belle Vista and Burbank avenues on the West Side destroyed the home.

No one was there at the time of the 3 a.m. fire because the home was being renovated, next-door neighbor Joe Kachurek said.

The owner is a man who planned to move his family into the home when the renovations were complete, Kachurek said. Last year, the owner jacked up the house and replaced all of the block walls and the footers under it.

The owner took a break from working on the house in November or December, Kachurek said.

“It was a big job. Then to have this happen after putting all that money into it …” he said, without finishing the sentence.

“It would have looked like a new house when it was done. That was his intent,” Kachurek said.

“I feel bad for him. I feel bad for myself,” Kachurek said, standing near the side entrance to his home, which suffered substantial damage to the vinyl siding on that side of the house.

Kachurek said he heard something hitting the side of his house that woke him up. He looked out and saw that it was the Youngstown Fire Department putting water on the side of his house to prevent any further damage.

A short time later, a firefighter knocked on the door and told him to keep an eye on the inside of his house to make sure no fire got in.

Attempts to learn more about the fire from the Youngstown Fire Department were unsuccessful.

Kachurek, who is retired, said he will probably turn in a claim to his insurance company for the damage to his siding, but he has a $2,500 deductible on his homeowner’s insurance, so the cost to him might be a lot.

Meanwhile, former Youngstown councilman and former Mahoning County commissioner Lenny Yurcho stopped at the house Monday morning hoping to find someone from the city there because he hoped to ask them to do something to clean up the property. He is hoping the fire damage will not become an eyesore for a prolonged period.

“This is still the West Side. Take care of it” is his message to the city, he said.

erunyan@tribtoday.com