Photo taken from the Piqua Firefighters Local 262 Facebook page.
Firefighters from Covington, Fletcher, Lockington and Sidney Fire Departments, along with the help of a ladder truck from Troy Fire Department, fight a fire on Spring Street in Piqua on Saturday morning.
Troy Fire Department provided assistance to Piqua Fire with the use of its ladder truck to battle a Saturday morning fire on Harrison Street in Piqua.
Courtesy photo | Doug Fosnight
By Sheryl Roadcap
PIQUA — A house fire on Harrison Street in Piqua Saturday morning required the help of several area fire departments.
Piqua firefighters responded to a report of a working house fire Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8:51 a.m. when a couple of citizens passing by called 911.
According to Piqua Fire Assistant Chief Paul Brown, one person was displaced by fire at the the two-story, multi-family structure at 316 Harrison St. that is owned by Edwin L. Liette. That person resided in the lower level apartment, with the second floor apartment being unoccupied. Brown noted the resident was sleeping and was awoken when a bystander went to his door; he was outside when firefighters arrived.
According to a post on Piqua Firefighters Local 262 Facebook page, Piqua Fire initially had five personnel to respond due to a medic unit already on a call.
“When we arrived heavy smoke and flames was showing from the back side of the house,” Brown said.
Mutual aid was called from Covington, Fletcher, Lockington and Sidney Fire Departments, along with a ladder truck from Troy Fire Department. Altogether, 30 firefighters were on the scene with 25 firefighters from mutual aid, Brown said.
“We could not do our job without these wonderful departments to assist us,” said the Facebook post. “Thank you Piqua power, Piqua PD, CenterPoint and Miami County dispatch for your assistance.
“We were on scene for almost six hours due to the weather and high wind,” Brown said. “We call this a wind-driven structure fire with winds up to around 15 mph.”
The house is a total loss, Brown said, with damages estimated around $60,000. The American Red Cross was also called to assist the one person who has been displaced.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Brown confirmed.
No injuries to civilians or first responders were reported.
