City of Warren F. D. News & Incidents for the Year 2006

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Story from the Warren Tribune Chronicle on 7/30/2006...

Firefighters recall fire that altered lives
By JENNIFER KOVACS Tribune Chronicle

AUSTINTOWN — Twenty-five years after eight Warren firefighters were burned in a blazing inferno set by an arsonist who was never caught, a few of them met Saturday to share their memories of that terrible day.

‘‘There’s probably not a day we don’t think about the fire,’’ said Michael Rubesich.

Rubesich, 54, invited his former co-workers and longtime friends to join him Saturday for a reunion at the Austintown O’Donold’s Irish Pub and Grill to commemorate the anniversary of the day when they might have died.

Eight firefighters reported to an early morning fire at 616 Parkman Road N.W. on July 29, 1981. They put out the initial blaze and believed the fire was under control. But heat trapped inside the house met with garbage bags filled with gasoline hanging from the ceilings, and soon each of their lives were changed forever.

Rubesich remembered it being dark inside the house. He heard the explosion before he saw it. With his mask blown from his face, he and another firefighter, Joseph Ritch, attempted to return to basic firefighting lessons to get them out — follow your hose.

‘‘It was burning too. I thought we were done,’’ Rubesich said.

But soon they saw a streak of light through the smoke and fire. Rubesich said he and Ritch made it to a window and jumped without any idea of where they’d end up. Luckily, the two landed on another rooftop.

Of the eight firefighters who battled the blaze, five were seriously burned — Rubesich, Ritch, Theodore Ray, Richard Kilbert Sr. and Gary McBride.

It was more than three months before Rubesich returned home to his family.

Obviously moved by emotion recalling what it was like for his two sons, Rubesich simply nodded when asked if at the moment of the explosion his family was the first thing to enter his mind. Michael Jr. and Brian, who remember the fire well despite being just 7 and 3 years old at the time, joined their father Saturday.

The first time that Michael Jr. visited his father in the burn unit of Akron Children’s Hospital, he said he was shocked to find a mummy wrapped from head to toe.

‘‘I passed out right in the room,’’ he said.

In the next months, the two young boys lived with another firefighter’s family while their mother, Mary Lou, worked, attended school and visited their father. They were each called to the hospital three times to watch as Rubesich was given his last rites.

Today, he paints a little and helps out a from time to time at O’Donold’s, where Michael Jr. is part-owner and keeps his dad’s melted helmet hanging on the bar’s wall.

And somehow, 25 years later, everyone is able to muster a few smiles over the tragedy.

For the Rubesich family, it’s the lasting effects their patriarch’s facial scarring will have — ‘‘He’ll never wrinkle,’’ Michael Jr. laughed.

Ray, 73, who made a trip up from his home in North Carolina, has four children in the area. Two of his sons are Warren city firefighters, and he admits they may have wanted to follow in his footsteps. When asked how he feels about their choice, he had just one sure response.

‘‘I’m glad they’re not working today,’’ Ray said.

Ray was never able to return to work after the blaze that gnarled his hands and left him badly scarred. Looking back on that day that still feels like yesterday, Ray said he and his buddies were just like the firefighters in New York City who could never have predicted the World Trade Center towers would come toppling down.

‘‘Firefighting ... it’s a unique thing,’’ he said.

Ray was presented with a piece of their old fire station’s pole by fellow firefighter Theodore Pytlik, who had it mounted and engraved with Ray’s name.

Pytlik, 80, joined in the reunion, but wasn’t part of his friends’ tragedy.

‘‘I was off that day. That was the worst part of it,’’ he said.

Pytlik didn’t find out what happened to his co-workers until that night, and he knew immediately they were lucky to be alive.

‘‘You never know what’s going to happen. I’ve had a lot of close calls, but this was the worst that ever happened,’’ he said.



jkovacs@tribune-chronicle.com

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Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 8/10/2006...

Fire destroys Warren apartments

WARREN — Occupants of a 12-apartment unit in Candlelight Apartments, 1108 Harvard Drive S.E., escaped without injury when fire swept through their building Wednesday afternoon.

However, three firefighters suffered minor foot, arm and shoulder injuries, respectively, while fighting the blaze, which was reported at 2 p.m. Firefighters left the scene at 7:30 p.m. Other buildings in the complex were not damaged.

A Warren Fire Department spokesman said there was severe fire damage to the third floor of the building, and smoke and water damage to the floors beneath. He said the building was a total loss, but that a damage estimate was not available. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

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From the Warren Tribune Chronicle on 8/10/2006...

Blaze guts apartments

By RON SELAK JR. Tribune Chronicle
Tribune Chronicle / Ron Selak Jr.

Warren firefighters on Wednesday afternoon fight a fire that destroyed an apartment complex inside Candlelight Apartments on Harvard Drive S.E. No one was injured and the fire is under investigation.

WARREN — Fire destroyed an apartment complex Wednesday afternoon, leaving many of the mostly elderly tenants looking for shelter and wondering when they can get back inside their homes to sift through what’s left of their belongings.

Despite watching their homes burn, many of the residents outside the 12-unit complex inside Candlelight Apartments at 1006 Harvard Drive S.E. were in good spirits, thankful that they escaped the blaze alive.

The four or so residents at home the time of the blaze still were left without shelter. The Red Cross was called to help.

‘‘I don’t know what to do. I’ve never had a fire,’’ resident Dorothy Parkhurst said.

Parkhurst and residents like Waymond Stovall and Connie Six stood behind the neighboring unit at 1092 Harvard Drive S.E. and watched as firefighters worked to connect hoses to hydrants and maneuver into place to quickly and safely extinguish the raging fire.

Stovall said he just happened past a window and saw smoke coming from the apartment.

‘‘That was when I got out,’’ he said.

Six said she was engrossed in a television episode of ‘‘One Life to Live’’ when a maintenance worker began pounding on her door, alerting her to the fire.

Crews were called to the complex about 2 p.m. and found flames spurting from the roof of the two-story building.

A cause of the fire remains unclear, but investigators believe it started inside a second-floor apartment and quickly spread to the complex’s attic and through the open space. It caused pieces of the roof to collapse while firefighters were inside, prompting firefighters to evacuate and battle the blaze from the ground and two ladders positioned on either side of the complex.

‘‘Once it got into the common attic space, it was just a matter of time before it spread all across the area, from east to west,’’ fire Chief Ken Nussle said. ‘‘There was no stopping it.’’

No one was injured.

A woman who answered the phone at the complex said the owners were traveling from Cleveland to examine the damage. Later Wednesday, no one could be reached for comment.



rselak@tribune-chronicle.com

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From the Warren Tribune Chronicle on 8/15/2006...

Car lands on another
By RON SELAK JR. Tribune Chronicle
Tribune Chronicle / Ron Selak Jr.

Holly Hake of Hazelwood Avenue S.E. looks over the damage done to her 1998 Pontiac Firebird. On Saturday, a car crashed into her car while it was in her driveway. She’s holding a shoe left behind by one of the other car’s occupants.

WARREN — Holly Hake was enjoying a good night’s sleep on Saturday until a commotion outside her home loud enough to wake the dead stirred her to consciousness.

She wishes what she saw was a dream.

The scene outside her 567 Hazelwood Avenue S.E. home about 5 a.m., more appropriately, should be described as a nightmare: A fiery 1998 Cadillac Eldorado teetering on the roof of her Pontiac Firebird.

‘‘I heard my car alarm going off and looked outside and saw some kid running down the road,’’ Hake said.

Then she said she ran outside and saw the burning luxury car still containing one of its five passengers resting perilously where her car’s roof should have been, dripping burning engine fluids down onto her red sports car.

‘‘His car was on fire and was dripping down onto my car,’’ she said.

No one was injured in the crash.

According to police, the Cadillac was speeding south down Hazelwood Avenue toward Youngstown Road, when the driver lost control and went off the opposite side of the road. In the front yard of Hake’s home, the car struck a high piece of ground and then a set of concrete steps, sending it through the air and on top of Hake’s car.

Hake said she was told by witnesses that the car was ‘‘flying down the road’’ before losing control and crashing. The report states that a passenger in the car had told the driver to slow down minutes before.

Cited with reckless operation in connection to the crash is 21-year-old James M. Dennis Jr., 782 Belvedere Ave. S.E., a police report shows.

The report states three of the car’s passengers ran and later were found at a home on Belvedere Avenue S.E.



rselak@tribune-chronicle.com

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From the Youngstown Vindicator on 8/13/2006...

Fourth fire station needed, chief says

A recent fire had a considerable head start, the chief said.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

WARREN — Fire Chief Ken Nussle says a fire station in the southeast quadrant of the city could have generated a faster response to this week's Candlelight Apartments blaze.

"We've always felt, to provide adequate protection, that a fourth fire station was needed" on the southeast side, perhaps in the vicinity of Ridge Avenue and Youngstown Road, Nussle said.

A two-alarm fire Wednesday destroyed a three-story, 12-unit brick building at 1108 Harvard Drive S.E., in the Candlelight Apartments complex.

The blaze, which originated in a third-floor apartment bedroom, was reported shortly before 2 p.m. Maintenance workers alerted the occupants and escorted them out uninjured.

First at the blaze was a fire engine that left the Atlantic Street Northeast fire station — the closest station to the fire — at 1:54 p.m. It arrived on the scene at 1:59 p.m.

It was followed by other trucks from the central station downtown and Parkman Road Northwest station, according to the fire department log.

"The fire did get a considerable head start on us," Nussle said, adding that it had likely been burning unnoticed for some time.

Outside advice

The fire chief said the five-minute initial response time is within National Fire Protection Association standards.

But Nussle pointed to two performance audits of the city fire department, one by the state auditor, the other by a private firm, calling for the city to have a fourth fire station in the city's southeast quadrant.

With 16 firefighters already on the scene, the second alarm at 2:21 p.m. brought out nine more firefighters from home to staff a rescue truck from the central station, on South Street Southwest, and a reserve engine from the Parkman Road station.

milliken@vindy.com

[YARBFD10]

Adding EMS to the Fire Department's mission would only help in acquiring a 4th fire station in the city.  Looking at the run totals for Med Star in a previous article posted on the boards, the EMS mission would be an easy one.  Warren is 16 square miles roughly and the EMS runs only added up to 2500 per year, according to the post about Med Star.  Where I work, the city is only 5.6 square miles and we do an easy 6,000 EMS calls out of 3 stations.  Firefighter/Paramedics are doing individually 700 calls a year , where Warren would be doing that per unit.  We bill $450 a transport and just started billing for treat & releases.  This would be a major boost to city income that would pay for itself in a few years.  Another point is that we do not cross man any unit in the city and all suppression companies still run with 4 firefighters, and on most days, the rigs are manned with at least one medically trained firefighter.  We can have 22 firefighters on scene is less than 5 minutes and have 6 to 10 more after the call back.  Full arrests bring 2 squads and the district engine giving you 8 pairs of hands.  Can Med Star do that?  It is a question of what is better for the citizens.

Just food for thought...  Take examples like Campbell, Salem, & East Liverpool.  Once prolific fire departments cut down to almost nothing because they refuse to change.

[Ray]

If it wasn't for EMS my department would still be part time or volunteers. Only 6% of our run volume is fire related. And were inline to run 4800 calls this year

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Warren fire kept busy
Story by RON SELAK JR. in the Tribune Chronicle on 10/19/2006.

WARREN — A man living in an apartment complex on Warren’s northwest end apparently forgot he was cooking , and when he returned from the bathroom, his kitchen was on fire.

‘‘He forgot he had a pot on the stove,’’ fire Chief Ken Nussle said.

The resident remembered the pot on his stove when he heard crackling — the sound of his kitchen cabinets burning. The fire damaged several parts of the room, Nussle said.

The fire at 3100 Beal St. N.W. was the second blaze firefighters dealt with in less than an hour on Wednesday afternoon on that side of town.

No one was hurt in either fire, which could be considered amazing since the Beal Street N.W. man, when he discovered that fire was consuming his cabinets, picked up the flaming pot and hurled it toward the nearest window.

The window was closed, the pot bounced off and fell to the floor, Nussle said. The fire didn’t go beyond the apartment’s kitchen.

It’s unclear what the man, whose name is not available, was cooking.

Crews were first called around 1 p.m. to a vacant home at 2754 Williamsburg St. N.W. and were able to knock down the blaze before it burned through the home’s roof. Nussle said neighbors told firefighters that the home had been empty for about a year and immediately before the fire, some kids were seen running from the house.

At around 1:20 p.m., when crews were searching for hot spots in the Williamsburg Street N.W. home is when crews got the other call on Beal Street N.W.

‘‘Fortunately, they were wrapping up,’’ Nussle said. ‘‘They were able to respond actually quicker than if they were in quarters because they were in the same neck of the woods.’’

rselak@tribune-chronicle.com

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Fired Warren workers returning to their jobs
Story by RON SELAK JR. Tribune Chronicle on 10/21/2006.

WARREN — Two emergency service workers fired because officials said they violated Warren’s residency ordinance — which goes against state law — will be returning to work on Monday.

Detective Michael Currington said he received a message Friday from Brian Massucci of the city Human Resources Department telling him he should return to his regular shift at 7 a.m. next week.

‘‘I can’t wait to get back to help protect the people of the City of Warren and help put more bad guys in jail,’’ Currington said on Friday afternoon.

Currington and police dispatcher Andrew Chovan were fired on Oct. 4 for violating the city’s residency ordinance, which requires most employees to live inside the city as a condition of employment. The two moved outside Warren after a state law prohibiting municipalities from requiring employees to live inside their boundaries took effect May 1.

However, Warren Mayor Michael J. O’Brien said ‘‘as part of the grievance process, it has been mutually agreed by the city and the union that Mr. Chovan and Mr. Currington will return to work and the grievance process will be stayed,’’ until the constitutionality of the residency issue is decided. He referred further questions to the city Law Department. Officials there could not be reached for comment.

Chovan and attorneys with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, which represents the patrolmen and dispatchers, could not be reached for comment. A handful of cities in Ohio are challenging the state law’s constitutionality. Officials in Warren and Youngstown have disagreed with the law’s constitutionality, saying the state cannot tell municipalities how to govern, despite Warren being a statutory city bound by state law.

In Youngstown, a police officer was fired for moving to Canal Fulton. Youngstown, however, is a charter city where residents voted to require employees to live inside the city.

Meanwhile, a firefighter in Massillon has been suspended without pay indefinitely for violating the state’s new law. Eight-year veteran Kipp Shearer has listed his permanent place of residence as Las Vegas.

Although the state’s new residency law allows employees to live outside the city where they work, it restricts them by requiring them to move only to adjoining counties.



rselak@tribune-chronicle.com

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Warren firefighters carry woman to safety
Story in the Youngstown Vindicator on 10/26/2006.

WARREN — Two city firefighters are being credited for carrying a woman to safety after her home caught fire Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters responded to a residential fire at 277 Second St. S.W., at 12:01 p.m.

Upon arrival, a neighbor advised the firefighters that 58-year-old Gwendolyn Baugh was still inside.

Crews then broke through the front door and advanced to the second story, where they found Baugh lying on the floor.

Firefighters Marc Titus and Shawn Peura carried the semiconscious Baugh outside and administered oxygen to her.

Baugh was treated for smoke inhalation at St. Joseph Health Center.

The fire damage was contained to one upstairs bedroom, fire officials said. The damage is estimated at $4,000 to the structure and $1,000 to its contents. The cause is still under investigation.

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Woman saved from burning home
Story by RON SELAK JR. of the Tribune Chronicle on 10/26/2006.

WARREN — Donald Butler heard the faint cries for help of a woman trapped inside a burning home about noon Wednesday on Warren’s southwest side.

But it wasn’t clear to the 42-year-old why his neighbor was screaming until he saw smoke and then realized her home at 277 Second St. S.W. was in flames. She was trapped in an upstairs bathroom while smoke and flames from a second-story bedroom began to spread throughout the home.

Crews got the call from Butler at 12:01 p.m., and within minutes had an unconscious Gwendolyn Baugh, 58, out of the home. She collapsed in an upstairs hallway as firefighters Shawn Peura and Marc Titus were working their way to the upper floor.

Baugh was taken to St. Joseph Health Center where she was treated and released.

Butler said he was outside his home when he heard Baugh screaming, turned, saw smoke and then called 911. After alerting emergency crews, he set out for the burning home and tried to get to the room where Baugh was trapped by jumping from a car in the driveway to a garage roof.

But the distance was too great.

Instead, he said, he climbed the home’s front wall, while a neighbor, Jan Fisher, readied a hose. Fisher handed the hose to Butler, who began spraying inside the bathroom. Fisher, meanwhile, went around the front and inside the home trying to help get Baugh out, Butler said.

Butler said he tried to keep Baugh calm until firefighters arrived.

‘‘I kept talking to her, saying ‘help is on the way,’ ’’ Butler said. ‘‘She stopped talking, but by then, firefighters had got to the home.

‘‘I felt like I did a good deed,’’ he said.

Titus said he and Peura were making their way up the front steps, and before they got to the top, Titus saw Baugh’s legs through the smoke. He said then she collapsed.

The two carried the woman’s limp body outside. She was still breathing and conscious by the time crews were able to take her to the hospital, said assistant Chief Gary McBride.

‘‘We pulled up and the neighbors said she was in there,’’ Titus said. ‘‘The guys did what they are trained to do, no panic mode.’’

The home did not have working electricity or gas. Firefighters found a smoke detector, but it was not working.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.



rselak@tribune-chronicle.com

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Arson is suspected in two fires
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 12/8/2006.


WARREN — Fire department officials think two fires that broke out earlier this week were deliberately set.

Firefighters were called out at 6:49 p.m. Monday to a home on 256 Maryland St. N.W. to battle a blaze in a 1991 Plymouth Van. The fire department was called out again at 9:45 p.m. to battle fires set in the home's two bedrooms.

No one was injured in the fires, and fire officials are still working to determine if anyone was living at the home before the blaze, Fire Chief Ken Nussle said.

The minivan was ruled a total loss and the damage to the home is estimated at $5,000, Nussle said.

It has not been determined who set the fires or what the motive may have been, Nussle said.

The Maryland Street home was the scene of a murder investigation last month, when police found the body of Dane Miller, 22, of Bristol, in the backyard on Nov. 15.

The Trumbull County coroner's office ruled that Miller died of several stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the head.

Police are investigating to see if Miller's murder, which remains unsolved, is connected with the arsons, Nussle said.

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Arsonist strikes twice
Story from the The Tribune Chronicle on 12/08/2006.

WARREN — Two fires were set at the northwest side home where the body of a 22-year-old Warren man was found last month.

Crews were called to 265 Maryland Street N.W. twice within three hours on Monday for a reported van fire and later to put out a fire at the ranch-style home where police on Nov. 15 found the body of Dane Miller in the home’s back yard.

Both fires were set intentionally, fire Chief Ken Nussle said.

At 6:49 p.m., fire crews were called upon to extinguish the fire that destroyed a 1991 Plymouth minivan and then at 9:45 p.m., crews returned to battle fires that were set in the home’s two bedrooms. The fire didn’t spread to any other area of the house, Nussle said.

The home sustained $5,000 in damage, the chief said.

No one was hurt.

Miller died of multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma, according to a ruling from the Trumbull County Coroner’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide.

Warren police are continuing to investigate the death.