Quick action and an extra boost of manpower allowed Wheeling firefighters to quickly extinguish a fire at 110-112 S. Wabash St. on Wheeling Island just after 8 a.m. today.
Wheeling firefighters raced to the scene, their third fire in two days, and brought the blaze under control within minutes of their arrival. Fire crews first on the scene reported smoke and flames shooting from the second floor window of the southern portion of the duplex home. No one was home at the time of the fire, according to fire officials.
Assistant Fire Chief Mark Knuth said the fire call came in just as the firefighters were changing shifts at 8 a.m. As a result, there were twice as many firefighters available to respond to the blaze.
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Photo by Casey Hicks
Wheeling firefighters quickly contain the blaze on the second floor of a Wheeling Island home just after 8 a.m. today.
"They knocked the fire down pretty quick. They did have heavy smoke and fire coming out of that second floor front window," Knuth said. "The fire was starting onto the roof but they got that out. There was no exposure to the other buildings."
While significant damage occurred in the bedroom, firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading into other portions of the structure. The building owner's name was not available this morning.
Firefighters used chainsaws to ventilate the roof area and then dug out the burning portions of the roof. Neighbors trickled out onto the street as the fire trucks began to arrive.
Engines 2 and 5, Ladder 1, Rescue 1, Squad 1 and Fire Chief Larry Helms, and Assistant Chief Ed Geisel responded in addition to Assistant Chief Knuth.
Fire Investigator Steve Rogers was called to the scene to look into the cause of the early morning blaze.
Rogers has been kept busy along with the rest of the department in the past two days.
A devastating blaze consumed two structures in the 4600 block of Eoff St. in South Wheeling late Wednesday night. The fire is believed to have originated in an empty structure that was being dismantled and then spread next door to an occupied home. No residents were injured but one city firefighter sustained injury when he fell through the floor that collapsed in one of the buildings. He was treated and released.
Also on Wednesday night, firefighters knocked down a fire in a residence at 1210 Main St.
The cause of each blaze remains under investigation.