Grease Blamed For Sidney Fire

Firefighters in Sidney did not have far to go to get to an apartment fire Wednesday afternoon. They only needed to roll the fire trucks out of the door at the Main Fire Station and they were there. Even one firemen ran to the scene instead of riding on the fire truck.

The happened around 4:40 p.m. at 231 W. Poplar Street, which is directly across the street from the fire department. The apartment is a three-story, five-unit building.

"On arrival, firefighters found smoke at the front door and a developing fire in a first floor apartment," said Assistant Chief Ron Wolfe. Some occupants had already evacuated the structure.

Firefighters began an attack on the fire while simultaneously beginning search procedures throughout the entire structure.

The fire was well developed in one apartment and required an aggressive interior attack, according to a fire department news release. The fire did extend into the second floor but firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading.

No one was found inside the structure during the search and it did turn out that all occupants had safely escaped prior to our arrival. Six pet cats were rescued from the second floor.

A second alarm was requested to bring in all off-duty Sidney firefighters and additional volunteer resources. Shelby County Fire, Port Jefferson Fire and Anna Fire provided mutual aid at the fire scene. Port Jefferson EMS handled a medical call that occurred in another part of the city during the fire.

The Northern Miami Valley Chapter of the Red Cross is providing assistance for the displaced occupants.

The apartment building is home to 14 people. At the time of the fire, there were only two occupants present. One was in the apartment where the fire started and she was alerted to the fire by smoke and evacuated. The other occupant in the building was in a separate apartment on the second floor. He was alerted when the central fire alarm system activated and he also evacuated.

The apartment where the fire started suffered heavy fire damage. Smoke damage was also reported throughout the other upstairs apartments. Damaged to the structure is estimated at $30,000 and loss to the contents is also estimated at $30,000.

The fire was investigated and the cause was determined to be accidental. The fire started when cooking oil was left unattended on the stove top.

The occupant of that apartment, Katherine Marlow, told NewsCenter 7's Northern Bureau Chief Steve Baker that she left on pan of hot grease on the stove. When she returned from her bedroom to the kitchen she discovered the fire. She said she was about to fry shrimp for supper.

There were no injuries.