MITCHELL – A blaze consumed the home on Spice Valley Road on Friday, September 1.
Marion Fire, Huron Fire and IU Ambulance were dispatched to the area of 1995 Spice Valley Road at 11:44 a.m. after a neighbor reported she heard a loud explosion and her neighbor’s house was on fire.
Marion units had already been advised of the fire by a phone call from the neighbors and had Mitchell Fire placed on standby for equipment and manpower.
Due to no response from Huron VFD, Marion command requested Shawswick fire with a tanker for water supply.
Marion Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Paul Gillespie, said when Engine 52 arrived on scene at 11:54 and found a single family dwelling, wood frame construction approximately 3/4 involved in fire.
“There was also a pickup truck near the home that was heavily involved,” added Chief Gillespie. “One attack line was laid out from Engine 52 and placed into service for extinguishment. As more crews arrived a second line was laid from Engine 52 and crews were sent into the garage that was not involved to search livable space and to hold the fire from extending into the garage area.
Firefighters searched the home and no one was found inside.
“The main body of fire was knocked down and salvage and overhaul of the structure started, plus a search for a potential victim,’ said Chief Gillespie. “Later, crews on water supply advised that the homeowner was at the end of the drive and was injured. The IU ambulance crew that was in standby at Engine 52 departed to provide patient care. The homeowner stated that the home got really hot, very fast and he escaped out of the back of the house. The homeowner suffered burns to his right arm and right ankle and was transported to IU Bedford Hospital emergency room for evaluation of his injuries.”
The name of the injured man was not released.
According to Chief Gillespie, due to the home not having electricity and that there was a civilian injury the State Fire Marshal’s Office was called and an investigator arrived to assist with determining the cause of the fire. The fire remains under investigation at this time.
Firefighters had the fire extinguished at 5:17 p.m. and all crews left the scene.
“Afternoon fires through the week are the most challenging for any volunteer fire department. Most members are at work and can’t leave to respond to calls,” added Chief Gillespie. “That means more mutual aid departments just to get the manpower on scene to do all the functions that need done in the first few minutes of a structure fire. As time goes on more and more members arrive as they get off work”
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) recommends between 17 and 19 Firefighters need to be on scene for safe operations in a rural setting. 14 Firefighters, 1 Incident commander, 1 Safety Officer and a Rapid Intervention Team for Firefighter Rescue.
“Those numbers go up as the risk goes up. Around 32 Firefighters are recommended to be on scene to incidents in high risk areas like Schools, Hospitals and Nursing homes, Fighting a fire is very labor intensive. It’s hot, you’re wearing around 100 pounds of equipment, the weight of a charged hoseline moving and pulling it around. It takes a lot of manpower to accomplish your task of getting the fire out quickly. It’s not for everybody I guess. It’s not like after 9/11 when everybody wanted to be a Firefighter or Police Officer anymore. Even the paid departments are having trouble getting applicants for the jobs they have available. This Wednesday I’ll hopefully be bringing in 3 more Firefighters to the department and have our roster up to 33 personnel. We still have 2 more empty spots to fill.”
