Firefighters battle smoke, flames, and a thunderstorm in Uhrichsville
UHRICHSVILLE (WJER) (August 2, 2022) – Firefighters had to battle pouring rain and hail, along with smoke and flames yesterday afternoon as they put out a house fire in the 400 block of Cross Street.
Chief Justin Edwards says no people or pets were hurt, and crews extinguished the fire in about 45 minutes, but it wasn’t easy.
“Our efforts were hampered pretty well by the thunderstorm that was in the area and the tornado warning that was ongoing during the incident,” he said. “Heavy rain and hail, we experienced for five to 10 minutes probably.”
The red cross is assisting the family of four, and the home was insured.
‘It wouldn’t be a total loss,” he said. “There was some significant damage to the rear of the house, smoke damage throughout, and some water damage pretty extensively.”
Edwards says the cause of the fire is undetermined but likely electrical. He says it started in the rear of the house, spreading from the first floor to the second floor.
Firefighters from Uhrichsville, New Philadelphia, Dennison, and Warwick Township responded to the call of smoke in a building, which came in around 4:45 p.m. and was quickly upgraded to a structure fire.
“Nobody was hurt. We were able to salvage and save some of their possessions, and the home is located fairly close to neighbors on both sides so neither one of those structures sustained any damage,” Edwards said.