Search turns up
empty in house fire

MidTown - May 26, 2003 --- Town of Evans Police spotted a house fire as they drove through the Village of Angola early Monday morning. As the officers approached Main St. from Commercial St., they saw smoke coming from a house located across the railroad tracks around 12:30am.

Angola Fire Control dispatched Angola and Lake Erie Beach firefighters to the house located at the corner of Friend St. & Railroad Avenue.

Neighbors reported that an elderly female who lives upstairs in the two-story structure might still be inside. This information was passed on to Angola Chief Todd Dybdal who requested Evans Center be dispatched as a FAST-Firefighter Assist & Search Team.

As Angola and Lake Erie Beach units arrived, firefighters made entry through the front and rear doors simultaneously. Thick gray smoke chugged from the building as a primary search turned up no victims in the house.

Evans Center's FAST team arrived and set up their tarps and tools in front of the building. Their crews then conducted perimeter checks of the fireground, identifying and suggesting safety related changes to the incident commander.

Angola and Lake Erie Beach firefighters made an aggressive attack on the fire in the basement and kitchen area at the rear of the house. Significant progress was quickly made when it was announced that a 13-year old occupant was unaccounted for. A secondary search proved negative and the boy was located at another residence in the town.

The "balloon" style construction of the home, with no fire breaks between floors,  allowed the fire to travel to the second floor and crews had to pull down the ceiling. This required extensive overhaul and ventilation - a tiring and time-consuming task.

Chief Dybdal requested county fire investigators to determine the cause and origin of the fire. Two Angola firefighters were treated for minor injuries and transported to Lake Shore Health Care Center by Rural/Metro Paramedics. Angola firefighters and Erie County Fire Investigators remained on location until after 9am that morning.

Angola was assisted at the scene by Town of Evans and Village of Angola Police, National Fuel Gas, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Erie County Fire Coordinator Jim McCullough and Erie County Emergency Services Chaplain Fr. Joe Bayne.

Photos by: Charlie Klepfer III/EVANS CENTER

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