Thursday, May 06, 1999

7 firefighters injured

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Burning Ft. Mitchell home produces flashovers

BY KRISTINA GOETZ and PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Firefighters rest after battling the Fort Mitchell fire. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        FORT MITCHELL — Seven Northern Kentucky firefighters were injured battling a large blaze at a Fort Mitchell home Wednesday night.

        The firefighters were caught in volatile flashovers while trying to extinguish the fire. Five were thrown out the front door of the burning home in one. Two were knocked off ladders in a second.

        “It's like a blow torch coming right at you,” said Fort Mitchell Assistant Fire Chief David Jansing. He was not one of the injured firefighters, but was the first on the scene to find a column of brown smoke rising from the two-story home.

        According to area hospitals, none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Most were minor burns, hospital officials said.

        Six were still being evaluated at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South in Edgewood. A seventh was being treated in the emergency room at St. Luke Hospital West. Names and conditions were not available early today.

        Sylvia Ruh was gardening outside her home at 18 Superior Road about 8:30 p.m. when a neighbor warned her of a fire in her attic, said her son, Jim Ruh. She had previously turned on an attic ventilation fan and had smelled smoke, but did not see anything, Mr. Ruh said.

        His mother and others in the house all escaped unharmed. She called 911 for help, then her son.

        “She was saying, "My house is on fire! My house is on fire!' She was terrified,” said her granddaughter, Caitlin Ruh, 14, who answered the phone.

        A crew of firefighters first entered the home from a side door. A second crew went in the front but was thrown back by the force of a flashover, Assistant Chief Jansing said.

        A flashover is one of the many hazards facing firefighters on the job. During an intense blaze, the fire starts to heat the contents of a room, giving off combustible gases. It can get so hot that the gases ignite, creating a powerful burst.

        A crew of firefighters was on ladders reaching to second-floor windows of the house when a second flashover blew two of them back, Assistant Chief Jansing said. Both slid down their ladders face first.

        “This has been a very stubborn fire,” he said. “We have no clue on any possible cause right now.”

        Investigators hope to return the scene today.

        The house was severely damaged. Ms. Ruh is staying with relatives.

        William A. Weathers contributed to this report.

       

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