EXPLOSION ROCKS NEIGHBORHOOD

KILLS FAMILY PET

INJURES ONE FIREFIGHTER

Call Time: 5:25 p.m. Sunday August 16, 2009
Sheffield Township – Firefighters from five Departments fought not only fire, but also explosions and extreme heat Sunday afternoon on Frankfort Road in Sheffield Township.

Chief Joe Bandagski of the Sheffield Township Fire Department said the call came in as a possible house fire with smoke in the neighborhood. “When our guys got here they found heavy smoke and fire. Our automatic mutual aid had Sheffield Village and Elyria Township already responding but the fire was getting out of control pretty quick so we also called in help from Avon and Amherst.”

Early in the battle Firefighters started hearing loud pops coming from inside the home. Fearing that it could be ammunition Command ordered everyone out of the structure.

A short time later, while all Firefighters were outside of the home, a loud explosion rocked the neighborhood sending a large fireball high into the air. The explosion sent one Firefighter from Elyria Township, who was on an attack line, to the ground near the front of the house.

Fellow Firefighters rallied to check on him then assisted him away from the house to a safe area to examine him further. It was later learned that he had twisted his knee after the explosion. He was taken to Community Health Partners Emergency Room and was later released according to Bandagski.

A home oxygen was the cause of the explosion.

Paramedics from Avon Fire Department set up their ambulance next door to the structure and were kept busy treating Firefighters with heat exhaustion.

Chief Bandagski said he was greatly assisted by Chief Jeff Young of Sheffield Village and Chief Frank Root of Avon during the blaze. “Having them on scene helps because they will take a side of the structure and be my eyes there and keep an eye on the Firefighters around them. A lot of times you will have Firefighters who want to keep battling the blaze but with this extreme heat they have to rotate through and get proper rehab, so the Chiefs keep an eye on that type of thing along with everything else.”

Bandagski said that the homeowners, Jim and Mary Wells, live alone in the home. “The wife is in the hospital and he was just coming home from seeing her today, so nobody aside from some pets were inside when the fire broke started.”

Donald Symons lives just down the street and has done work for the Wells and knows them well. “We were getting ready to go ride our ATV’s out in the woods when we looked down and saw all the smoke coming from their house. We ran down there and saw that the house was already fully engulfed with fire. My buddy, Steven Shall, ran to a front window and used his helmet to break it out. I grabbed a rock and broke out another window. We could hear noises coming from inside the home and we weren’t sure if they were inside or not at that point. Then we could see their two dogs just inside one of the windows. I grabbed in and got one then kinda tossed him over the fence to another neighbor. We tried to get the other one, but just couldn’t. The heat and fire was just too intense.”

Symons said that although he wished he and Shall could have rescued the second dog as well he is just grateful that the Wells’ were not inside at the time of the fire. “I would just hate to think what would have happened if they were in that fire.”

Symons said that he believes the neighborhood will rally around the couple and help them in anyway that they can.

Mark Verde owns a home just behind the Wells home and had been working on the house in hopes to sell it soon. He was happy with the response and work that the many Firefighters did Sunday afternoon. “The fire was so intense and shooting so high into the air I was very concerned that it was going to spread to my house. Then when I heard that explosion I pretty much figured that my house catching fire was a certainty. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with these guys; working in this heat with the amount of fire they had to deal with was something to watch. Then to see them be able to protect my home and also the garage there – I’m just very impressed.”

As always another group on scene was the Lorain County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Disaster Chairman Art Mead said that they would be assisting the family in anyway that they could but that their initial concerns were for the Firefighters. “We have water and Gatorade for the Firemen and also keeping cold towels ready for them as well. It is so very important that they keep the fluids flowing and to do whatever they can to keep cool.”

Bandagski said that the Lorain County Fire Investigators were already on scene beginning their investigation. Although it is too early to determine what started the fire, they believe it started in the laundry room. The home was a total loss.

Editors Note: It should be noted that Red Cross Disaster Chairman Art Mead was at home celebrating his 66th Birthday with his family when he received the call of the fire. Mead admitted that he had a little bit of his steak that was coming off the grill before he left his family and responded to the scene.

TMC NEWS would also like to extend a big GET WELL to Elyria Township Firefighter Dave Keener.

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