House fire extinguished quickly [E. Liverpool, OH]

[yfdgricker]

House fire extinguished quickly
Story by MICHAEL D. McELWAIN in the Lisbon Morning Journal on 2/19/2010.

EAST LIVERPOOL - A downtown house fire Thursday could have been a lot worse, but a few key factors came together to minimize damage, according to fire department officials.

The call for help came at 1:40 p.m. Thursday and East Liverpool firefighters from two stations raced to 818 Daisy Lane.

"It was a good thing that we had the manpower on duty, and we responded to the call from both Central Station and from Northside," Lt. Tim Walker said Thursday evening.

Within three minutes, the firemen were on the scene.

"We could see fire coming from the roof vents," Walker noted.

As two men grabbed a hose and went inside the home, two others climbed the roof.

"We were able to pop off the roof vents and gain access to the fire from above as the other men hit it from below," Walker said.

Within a few minutes, firefighters gained the upper hand.

Walker said the fire started in the ceiling area of one of the bedrooms. The homeowner reportedly ran some new wire to the existing, old-style, wiring in the attic area. The new wire was not heavy enough to carry the load, overheated, shorted out and caused the fire.

The bedroom ceiling and roof area sustained some fire damage, and the interior of the home had water damage as well. Walker estimated the repair cost at $5,000.

Homeowner Junior Keeder disconnected the electrical circuit that caused the fire, according to Walker. The seven people living at the residence are able to stay.

"The one thing that helped us is they had the big vents in the roof," Walker noted. "If it was air-tight, the fire would have rolled in that roof, and we may not have gotten to it in time."

The fire was under control at 2:16 p.m., and firefighters were back in service at 3:24 p.m.

There was no insurance on the two-story frame house, according to Walker.

mmcelwain@reviewonline.com