Friday, August 13, 1999
No cause found for Florence fire
BY MOLLY HARPER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE — Twisting the polished gold wedding ring on her finger Thursday morning, Ratona Harr looked at her 11-month-old son, Chase, and smiled. Nearby, her Saddlebrook condominium building stood soggy and black, ravaged by a fast-spreading fire late Wednesday. Her second-floor unit was one of the worst hit.
“The firefighters went back in and got my wedding ring and a quilt my mother-in-law made for my son,” she said. “So I'm OK. Everything else can be replaced. That's why we pay for insurance every month.”
Residents said the fire broke out after they heard a loud bang sometime after 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. More than 60 firefighters from five departments responded to fight the blaze at the complex south of Florence Mall.
Deputy Florence Fire Chief Tom Ollier said they got the fire under control within an hour and stayed on the scene until 6 a.m. Thursday checking for hot spots.
The cause of the fire had not been determined Thursday afternoon. Deputy Chief Ollier said it started in the rear of the 24-unit, three-floor building, probably on the top floor. Residents said they smelled natural gas before the fire started.
Two firefighters were treated and released at St. Luke Hospital West for a twisted ankle and heat exhaustion.
Mrs. Harr said she was sitting in her living room late Wednesday when she heard a loud bang above her that shook the building. She said it sounded like someone was moving furniture and dropped it.
A few moments later, a neighbor, Ralph Wall, came running down the hall pounding on doors and screaming there was a fire. She scooped up her son and ran from the building.
Several residents credited Mr. Wall with alerting them to the fire, but before the night was over, he had been arrested.
Mr. Wall was charged with disorderly conduct, terroristic threatening and resisting arrest when Florence police officers say he got in the way of firefighters, tried to re-enter the building and threatened officers when they stopped him.
“He was apparently causing a disturbance at the scene and then resisted arrest when they tried to take him in,” Officer Tim Chesser said.
Mr. Wall, of Wales, was in Florence visiting his wife, who's been working for a local company since February. He was released on bond Thursday morning. He wouldn't talk about how he thinks the fire started or what led to his arrest.
Right now, he said, he just wants to straighten out the matter with the authorities and find his passport in the burned-out apartment so he can fly home in September.
“My wife's company will help us find a place to live,” he said. “I don't know how much longer we'll be here. But I know we're very fortunate no one was hurt.”
Gary Plunkett, district manager for the building's owner, Towne Properties, was at the scene Thursday morning to locate residents. He couldn't estimate how much damage was done to the building.
“Many are staying with neighbors, and I just want to be able to contact them when they can go back in and get their property. We don't want to lose them,” he said.
The year-old complex has two-bedroom, two-bath units priced from $70,000 to $95,000. Twenty-one of the 24 units in the building that burned were thought to be occupied.
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