photo by: Robert A. DeFrank

Emergency vehicles assemble on Zane Highway at the northern end of Martins Ferry as others hurry uphill to battle a blaze Thursday afternoon.

The area near Jaycee Manor apartments was the site of a large fire Thursday.

Sirens and emergency vehicles were heard and seen in the streets of Martins Ferry beginning a little after 2 p.m. and blocked the area, but smoke was visible over the hillside from as far away as the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville.

Martins Ferry Fire Chief I Tom Kelly said the fire began on private property along Laslo Road.

“Far as (we know) the fellow was burning his garbage and it just fell out of the barrel or something and caught the woods on fire,” Kelly said.

Firefighters were able to stop the blaze from spreading to a nearby home. Kelly said the fire spread quickly, estimating it was about 100 yards wide and 500 yards deep. He said the fire’s location posed some additional problems.

“I called in the (Belmont County) Tanker Task Force,” Kelly added. “We have no (fire) plugs up in this area, so they took us a little time to get water, but we had a good bit knocked down before … so that helped. And once we were able to get water from the tankers, everything was under control.”

Kelly added firefighters expected to have the fire fully doused by early Thursday evening.