WHEELING - Two propane tanks adjacent to a house on Apple Pie Ridge that had gone up in flames this morning caused emergency responders to worry about a possible explosion.
At 8:30 a.m. today, the Beech Bottom Volunteer Fire Department received a call that a home at RD 5, Box 273 in Ohio County was engulfed in flames. Beech Bottom Fire Chief Roger Coulter said when firefighters arrived on the scene they noticed two, 200-gallon propane tanks and immediately doused them with water while also fighting the fire. "This was a little scary having the propane tanks right along the side there," Coulter said. "With all of that heat and propane we would have had a big problem - a big explosion. We put a hose on the fire and one hose on the propane."
While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Coulter said it most likely began inside of the home. He also said because of the fire and water damage, the structure is now uninhabitable. The family lost nearly everything in the blaze.
Article Photos
A firefighter assesses
damage after a fire on Apple Pie Ridge today.
Photo by Bethany Romanek
Ken and Jill Murray, who live in the house with their three children, were not at home when the fire started.
"We were gone 20 minutes and someone called and said your house is on fire," said Ken Murray. "My wife was taking two of our kids to school and she called me at work. By the time I got here the flames were coming out of the side of the roof and everything. Before it happened we went through and made sure everything was shut off."
Other units that responded to the blaze included Brooke County EMS along with Bethany, West Liberty, Clearview and Windsor Heights volunteer fire departments. No one was injured in the fire.