PIKE TOWNSHIP — It took firefighters from three counties to battle the flames that engulfed two homes in Pike Township Tuesday afternoon.
One woman was hurt, transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital and later to Columbus at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Her condition was not known at the time of publication. The residents of the other house were not home at the time of the blaze.
Both homes were a total loss, leaving the residents displaced, firefighters reported. The American Red Cross was contacted to assist the families.
According to the Fredericktown Community Fire District, CH411, CH412, E419, E413, T417, G412, G414 were dispatched at 3:33 p.m. on to the 18000 block of Mishey Road in Pike Township on the report of a house fire with flames showing.
The initial 911 call came from a neighbor and radio traffic indicated there was someone inside the two-story residence. Due to the remote area and the initial information from the caller, mutual-aid was requested immediately.
Upon arrival, Fredericktown Community Fire District Chief Scott Mast found the house to the west was fully involved and the high winds were blowing the flames horizontally into the house on the east and already beginning to extend. It was determined after crews arrived that there was an all-clear on the residences and that the occupant of the home who was injured was treated by EMS.
“With the wind conditions out there, it was a task to try and keep the fire off of the house to the east,” Mast said.
Mutual-aid came from Jefferson Township (Richland County), Worthington Township (Richland County), College Township, and the Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District in the form of tankers and engines. The Johnsville Fire Department (Morrow County) responded with a tanker, rescue, manpower and additional air (SCBA) bottles as the supply on scene was exhausted. Two medic units from Fredericktown EMS also responded.
“Getting all of the additional resources out there to fight two house fires at once in that particular area is a challenge,” Mast said. “The lack of firefighters initially available hindered the attack on the fire.”
The initial attack was defensive at first, where crews first worked to slow down the fire on the west residence and protect the home to the east. The first two arriving apparatus were not fully staffed.
When enough personnel were available on scene, firefighters were able to transition and make entry to the east house to begin attacking the fire.
A mixture of 1 3/4” hand lines, 2 1/2” lines, and master streams were utilized in suppression on the scene. At one point, due to conditions inside the house to the east, the air horns were sounded and a transition was made back to a defensive attack.
High winds throughout the course of the incident drastically affected the outcome of this call, fire officials reported. Winds in the northern part of Knox County were 17 mph sustained, with gusts to 32 mph.
Scene safety early on was hindered with natural gas meters that could not be shut off immediately and continued to blow flames next to the home for an extended period of time. According to Mast, it took a lengthy period of time to get the gas shut off as the valves that needed to be located were buried in the yard.
It took a significant time to get the situation under control and to overhaul to look for fire extension into the house to the east, he said.
The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental, and no further investigation is underway.
“The occupant in the house to the west fell asleep smoking in her chair, woke up to the chair on fire, attempted to put the fire out and was unsuccessful,” Mast said. “She managed to get herself out before we arrived on scene but did suffer burns.”
Water supply operations were setup at two nearby dry hydrants with no issues. A significant amount of water and foam were used to get the fire extinguished, fire officials reported.
