Niles fire crews continued to control a structure fire that burnt a historic home to the ground Thursday afternoon.

The fire started around 3:00 p.m. at the corner of Robbins Avenue and Crandon Avenue. According to the Niles Historical Society's website, this home once housed the "Hot Dog King," Harry Stevens and his daughter.

Pictures sent by 21 News crews show the house burnt completely to the ground.

"Crews found heavy fire volume coming out of every window of the structure," said John Stevens, Niles Fire Chief. "The walls were bowed out and there was a lot of glass shards spread about the road. They [our crews] went into a defensive attack immediately."

People living nearby said their homes even shook when the explosion happened. No one was hurt and no one was home at the time.

According to the Niles Historical Society, Stevens lived in the home starting in 1911 and the home was subsequently acquired by his daughter, Annie, where she lived for many years. The garage was built in 1936, two years after Stevens' death.

"This is just a really important piece of local history to Niles," said Mason St. Clair of Niles Vienna Road. "It's irreplaceable. We drive by it a lot and it'll be difficult to see it not here."

According to the Trumbull County Auditor, the home was sold on November 15 for $83,500.

"It is an old home," Chief Stevens said. "They were currently trying to renovate it. I don't know how far along they were in the renovation process. It was starting to look nice around the building."

"I was really looking forward to seeing it renovated," St. Clair said. "It would have been really nice to see it back to the way it was when Harry Stevens lived here. It's just sad to see it gone."

At this point, it's unclear what started the fire. The State Fire Marshall and Dominion Energy will continue to investigate what caused the explosion.

Visit Niles Historical Society's website for more information about the Stevens' home.

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