Firefighters battle two house fires in Greene County
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg-Franklin and Jefferson volunteer firefighters battled an attic fire at a Franklin Township home Friday morning. A second fire was reported in Cumberland Township. For more details on Friday’s fires, see Page A4.
Waynesburg-Franklin and Jefferson firefighters battled an attic fire at a Franklin Township home Friday morning.
Waynesburg-Franklin and Jefferson volunteer firefighters battle an attic fire at a Franklin Township home Friday morning.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Carmichaels and Nemacolin firefighters put out a roof fire at a residence on Muddy Creek Road in Cumberland Township Friday morning.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A firefighter sits on the roof of a Cumberland Township home that caught fire Friday morning.
Two house fires kept Greene County firefighters busy Friday morning.
Waynesburg-Franklin and Jefferson firefighters responded to the first fire about 9 a.m. It started in the attic of a Franklin Township home at 396 Whites Ridge Road.
When firefighters arrived, the family was outside and had removed their three pets and some of their personal items and warm clothing.
A father and his three children were in the home drinking coffee around the table when one of his children went upstairs to use the bathroom. One of the residents smelled smoke and could hear the fire sizzling above the ceiling.
The father then took a sledgehammer to the ceiling, according to a family member, who declined to be identified. He put a hole in the ceiling, saw the flames and tried to spray it with a shower head.
Waynesburg-Franklin fire Chief Jeff Marshall said an electrical circuit in the attic caught fire and spread through the insulation and rafters. The crews cut the rest of the bathroom ceiling down to put the fire out.
He said the house wasn’t destroyed, but the power had to be turned off. The family will need to stay elsewhere until repairs are made, he said.
The second fire was reported about 10:45 a.m. at 1097 Muddy Creek Road in Cumberland Township. Cumberland Township police said the residents were all safely out of the home as Nemacolin and Carmichaels firefighters worked to put out a fire in the roof near the chimney of the two-story home.
Medics from EMS Southwest also responded to the Cumberland Township fire.