Fire sweeps through Independence Township apartment building
Fire crews use an aerial truck to a fight an apartment building fire in Independence Township Monday. All residents escaped the blaze, but lost everything in the fire.
Water and debris wash out of an Independence Township apartment building as firefighters doused it with water.
An Avella woman and her five children along with three other tenants were left homeless Monday after fire swept through the three-story apartment building they shared at 32 Short St. in Independence Township.
Avella fire Chief Eric Temple said Amanda Ruschel heard a popping noise in her third-floor apartment just after 7 a.m. She tried to turn on the television, and when it would not come on, Ruschel started checking around the residence.
“She found a fire in a storage closet,” Temple said. “She got her kids out and then warned everyone else in the building. The flames were already coming through the roof when we got here.”
The building is almost directly across from the fire department on Route 50, but the trucks had to go down a block and cross railroad tracks to reach the rear of the building.
“We started attacking the fire from the back,” Temple said. “The only access to her third-floor apartment is from a fire escape at the back of the building.”
“It was tough to fight it,” he added. “We had icy conditions with the water freezing on the concrete and blacktop.”
Temple said the fire was under control by about 8 a.m., but the roof collapsed a short time later as firefighters continued to battle the fire from outside the structure.
“The residents lost everything they had,” Temple said. “But no firefighters or residents were injured and there was no damage to neighboring buildings. We were able to keep the fire contained to just one building.”
About four dozen firefighters from several departments in Washington County and West Virginia fought the blaze. Temple called for an aerial truck from Washington because of the height of the building. A city fire captain told Temple he had only been to Avella to fight a fire one other time in his 20-year career. City firefighters brought an aerial truck when a five-story building burned down almost 10 years ago.
“I am so appreciative of the city coming out to help,” Temple said. “They were a big help and offered some suggestions to help us out.”
Temple also acknowledged the efforts of all the neighboring departments sent to help. “We had quite a few firefighters out there helping us,” he said.
Assisting Avella were firefighters from West Middletown, Mt. Pleasant Township, Claysville and Slovan in Washington County and Franklin and Hooverson Heights in West Virginia. The Jefferson Township fire department responded as a rapid intervention team. Canton Township brought an air truck. Midway firefighters were on standby in the event there was another fire in that area of the county, Temple said.
It is because of some of the taller buildings in the area that Temple has the department’s fire trucks equipped with two, larger attack lines, in the event firefighters have take a hose into a three or four-story building.
Trooper James Garlick, a state police fire marshal, was called to the scene but was not able to determine what caused the fire because of the heavy damage.
This is not the first fire in the building owned by Sue Zatta. Temple said there was a kitchen fire in one of the apartments several years ago.
The American Red Cross is assisting Ruschel and her children. Temple said the other three tenants have family in the area and declined assistance. A fifth apartment in the building was not occupied.
Washington County Department of Public Safety and Ambulance and Chair also assisted.