Floor collapse creates tense moments for Cleveland firefighters

VIDEO: Cleveland firefighters battling a house fire on Pershing Avenue early Tuesday had a close call when the floor began to give way. The first 911 calls for the fire came in at 12:25 a.m. Tuesday. When the first fire truck, which was coming from less than a half mile away, pulled up to the home at the corner of Pershing Avenue and Track Road they found fire shooting from windows of the two-story home. Fire crews worked for about 30 minutes before a small group of them were on second floor and the floor gave way, causing the firefighters to drop a foot or two with it. The floor stabilized before collapsing into the first floor. Everyone was able to get out of the house uninjured. Firefighters and police on scene said they believed the home to be vacant but neighbors said someone had lived there just a few weeks ago.
WEWS-TV IBS 5 Cleveland

Troy Fire Department launches apprenticeship program

From a “wild thought” to fruition, the Troy Fire Department introduced its first two “Hometown Heroes” apprentice students during a recognition ceremony at Fire Station No. 2 on Monday. Chief Matthew Simmons introduced William Vernon and Joseph Schmelzer to a crowd of supporters. Simmons said the idea for the program began two years ago. Simmons worked with the city of Troy, Edison State Community College and state officials to bring the program, which will launch next week, to fruition. The students will work 20-24 hours a week with a flexible schedule built around their course work. Vernon, a veteran of the U.S. Army with an honorable discharge, is a Lehman Catholic graduate and resident of Piqua. Vernon specialized in HAZMAT services in the Army. He’ll also be training using the G.I. Bill, Simmons said.
Piqua Daily Call

Northeast Ohio fire departments face staffing issues

Chester Township Fire Chief John Wargelin says his department is among those nationwide facing an epidemic. He's talking about staffing issues. His department has battled an 85 percent turnover rate in the past five years. Mentor Fire Chief Robert Searles referred to The US Fire Department Profile, 2017, released by the National Fire Protection Association in March that reported 1,056,200 firefighters in the U.S. in 2017 -- a 2% decrease from 2016. The number of non-career/part-time firefighters dropped to its lowest estimate since NFPA began reporting this statistic in 1986, the study found. "What is concerning about the study is that the trend continues and we are feeling it here in Lake County, especially with a decrease in our part-time ranks," Searles said.
Ohio News Herald - Metered Site

Conneaut moves fire levy forward

Conneaut voters are going to have a significant choice to make in November. At Monday night’s meeting, Conneaut Council voted to place a 3-mill levy on the November ballot to pay for three additional full-time firefighters. The levy would be double the current 1.5-mill fire levy. The fire department has three full-time personnel on a shift at a time, and one part-time firefighter, Chief Steven Lee said earlier this month. The increase in the levy would allow the department to add three new full-time firefighters. There have been issues keeping part-time firefighters with the department. “The problem is, these guys, right now, they’re doing the same thing I was doing when I was in their shoes and working part time: trying to get a full-time fire job somewhere,” Lee said at a work session earlier this month. “It can almost be like a revolving door.” City Manager Jim Hockaday said the fire department doesn’t just fight fires.
Ashtabula Star Beacon

Four people rescued after boat capsizes in Lake Erie in Avon Lake

Authorities rescued four people after their boat capsized Tuesday afternoon in Lake Erie. No injuries were reported after a U.S. Coast Guard crew and Avon Lake firefighters rescued the four people and brought them to shore, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said. The Coast Guard and the Avon Lake Fire Department could not say exactly when the incident occurred or how far offshore the boat was when it capsized. They also could not provide any information about the four people rescued. The Coast Guard assisted with rescue boats and a helicopter, authorities said.
Cleveland Plain Dealer & Cleveland.com

Toledo fire investigators looking into the cause of two fires overnight

Toledo’s Fire investigative unit is looking into the cause of two suspicious fires from overnight. A garage caught fire first early this morning near 5th and Starr Ave, then an hour later, another fire. A Battalion Chief tells 13abc the fire is at a vacant house at the corner of Starr Ave and 5th Street. Firefighters are still working to put out the fire. The FIU (Fire investigative unit) is on the scene, looking into a possible cause for both fires. No one was hurt.
WTVG-TV 13abc Toledo

Cincinnati firefighters pull body, wrecked car from Mill Creek; Police identify victim

Firefighters spent hours late Monday night on the “prolonged and difficult” extrication of a body from a car found wrecked in Mill Creek. Crews responded at about 10:03 p.m. to the area of 4266 Spring Grove Ave. The Honda Accord was upside-down in the creek by the time members of the Cincinnati Fire Department arrived, according to an incident report from the department. It had “driven off a high embankment" — one on Spring Grove Avenue — "and came to rest on its top.” Jonathan Seay, 41, was driving northbound on Spring Grove Avenue when he traveled off the right side of the road, crashed through two fences and overturned his car in Mill Creek. Seay died at the scene. Police said excessive speed appears to be a factor in the crash. Police do not know whether Seay was impaired.
WCPO-TV ABC 9 Cincinnati

Chief: One dead after being rescued from Fairborn house fire

A female has died in a house fire on North Haven Drive Tuesday morning, Fairborn fire officials confirm. Area fire departments and rescue crews responded to the 80 block and found heavy flames coming from the house around 1:35 a.m., according to initial reports.After taking a defensive approach to the two-alarm fire, firefighters were able to enter the home and conduct a search for possible occupants.A female was located during the search of the house and removed by fire crews. The individual, whose identity was not released, was pronounced dead following their rescue, officials said.
Dayton Daily News

Kayaker dies after tumbling over Ellis Dam in Muskingum County

David R. Casler, 53, of Malvern was pronounced dead at Genesis Hospital after being rescued near Terrace Shores nearly about 45 minutes after he was spotted going over Ellis Dam. According to Muskingum County Coroner Charles Feicht, medical personnel performed life-saving measures en route but were unsuccessful. Authorities said a man fishing near Ellis Dam called 911 around 5:45 p.m., after witnessing a kayak tumble over the dam. The witness told emergency personnel he heard a man scream and saw the kayak go over the dam, then disappear. About 10 minutes later, the witness told authorities, the kayaker floated past him still wearing his life vest. Several minutes later the kayak floated by. A rescue boat was launched and Casler and his wife, Mary, who was kayaking with him, were located near Terrace Shores. Authorities said Mary had exited the river before reaching the dam and reentered with her kayak below the dam.
Newark Advocate

Macaw Owner Greatful After Colerain Twp. Firefighters Rescue Bird

Macaw owner Joey Oser got emotional when reunited with his macaw "Gigi" this weekend. It took the Colerain Township Fire Department's ladder to reach the bird, who had become stranded about 60 feet up in a tree. As the ordeal unfolded on social media, we learned Gigi is a fixture on the West Side. Oser takes her almost everywhere he goes, and told firefighters he fed her with a dropper when she was first hatched. That was more than 20 years ago. So you can imagine the anxiety he felt when she suddenly started flitting from tree to tree and Oser couldn't get the macaw down for 24 hours. That's when Colerain Township firefighters came into the picture. They were able to coax Gigi to come down.
WMUB-FM 88.5 Oxford Public Radio

Man suffers near drowning in Granville’s Lake Hudson

A 20-year old man was transported to Licking Memorial Hospital on Sunday after what Granville Fire Chief Casey Curtis described as “a near-drowning.” Granville Fire Department personnel responded at about 2 p.m. Sunday to Lake Hudson, located at 1056 Old River Road in Granville, on a report of a required water rescue. Chief Curtis said Monday the man — who is not a Granville resident and for whom the department did not have information regarding residency — was swimming with another at the deep end of the lake, “when he sort of just got tired and couldn’t make it to the dock or to the shore and ended up going under.” When Granville emergency crews arrived on the scene, the man had been pulled from the water and was administered CPR. Curtis said the man was then transported to Licking Memorial Hospital. “He was in very serious condition when we left the hospital,” Curtis said. “It was reported to us they were going to try and stabilize him if they could, and then he was going to be transported to a Columbus Hospital.”
Newark Advocate