SMETHPORT – A fire Friday morning caused extensive damage to the
upstairs of a house in Smethport, but no one was injured in the
blaze.
Scott Thomas, deputy chief of the Smethport Volunteer Fire
Department, said that when firemen arrived on the scene at East and
Water streets shortly after the first alarm at about 9 a.m., heavy
smoke was showing from the eaves and roof peak.
At the time of the fire, Neil Duell, his wife and two children
were living at the residence. Duell, who instructed his family to
evacuate, said he attempted to extinguish the fire, but was turned
back by thick smoke.
There were no injuries.
Eric Johnston of Port Allegany is listed as the owner of the
house.
Thomas praised the firemen for their quick action in knocking
down the flames in the initial attack.
A second alarm that was sounded at 9:08 a.m. sent the Star Hose
Co. from Port Allegany and Norwich Township Volunteer Fire
Department to Smethport. The two trucks and ten firemen from Star
Hose reported to the scene, while a crew and one truck from Norwich
Township remained on standby at the Smethport firehall. Also on the
scene were Steve Nelson and Bruce Manning, the top two officials
from the McKean County Emergency Management Agency.
Approximately 30 firemen answered the alarm.
Fire officials determined that the fire started in a bedroom at
the back of the wooden structure, and the cause was deemed to be
electrical in nature.
Firemen used one five-inch and two one-and-a-half-inch lines and
a positive pressure fan in fighting the fire. Water was pumped from
a hydrant a block away at Nelson and Water streets, near the
firehall.
Thomas said that damage to the upstairs was listed as “severe.”
Some water dripped down through the ceiling to the downstairs, but
there was no fire damage there.
Firemen were in service until approximately 10:26 a.m.
The Smethport Police Department and fire police men handled
traffic control.
While the Star Hose firemen were in Smethport, Eldred Borough
firemen were on standby in Port Allegany.
The Bradford Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the
family, according to an agency spokeswoman Friday morning.
