Apartment building, six homes damaged in Washington County fire
Ed Riedmann
Ed RiedmannHeavy smoke filled the air as firefighters battled a blaze that originated at an apartment building at 141 Liberty St. in California Saturday afternoon.
At least seven adults and 11 children are without a place to live after a fire Saturday afternoon in California totally destroyed an apartment building and three houses, and damaged others.
Despite the number of buildings that were involved, California Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tom Hartley said no one was injured.
“Everybody was out when we got on scene. (One) house was fully involved with three other ones burning,” he said.
The fire was reported around 12:15 p.m. at the apartment building at 141 Liberty St.
“We ended up having four houses on fire, three more had exposures (to fire),” the chief said.
Due to the extreme heat, 13 fire companies from Washington, Fayette and Westmoreland counties responded. Brownsville Ambulance also was on scene rendering aid where needed. Firefighters remained on scene for more than six hours, Hartley said, and the heat made their work more difficult.
“You can’t last long inside. When you come out, you’re bushed. … It limits your firefighting, so you need more to do the same job,” Hartley said.
Crews returned to the scene Sunday morning to take care of a hot spot.
The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, and the Red Cross and Salvation Army were called to help find lodging for those who were displaced.
The chief thanked community members for their help.
“The community brought us water and ice boxes and stuff like that all day,” he said. “They were pretty good, trying to take care of us.”