A fire at a home on South Sixth Street that included a heroic rescue is now being investigated.

Ironton Fire Department Chief Tom Runyon confirmed that the case was under investigation but stressed the cause of the blaze remains unknown.

“It is under investigation,” Runyon said. “I can’t say one way or another what the cause was or if it was a case of arson but it is under investigation. We are working with the state fire marshal to determine a definitive cause.”

Cody Blackburn and Tyler Hager noticed the burning home on their way to get something to eat on the night of June 15. The pair entered the house, rescuing Whitney Vogelsong and Dickie Abrams from the inferno.

“We just ran up to the side of the house and we could hear people screaming,” Blackburn said. “There was a guy hanging out of the window and we tried to get him to jump but the window wasn’t big enough for him to get out through. We knew we were going to have to go in.”

Until more information is received, the fire chief doesn’t know the cause of the fire.

“Like I said we haven’t gone too deep into this investigation yet,” Runyon said. “We’re waiting on more samples to come back from the lab before we can really go any further with our investigation. There isn’t a whole lot I can say right now.”