ELYRIA — For the second night in a row, nine families were being housed in motel rooms thanks to help from the American Red Cross following a fire Wednesday night at a three-story apartment building near Midway Mall.

The fire, which broke out in an apartment on the top floor after bedding was ignited by a curling iron, caused about $120,000 damage to Building C of the Arlington Square apartments on David Drive and about $30,000 damage to its contents, according to Assistant Chief Glenn Saddler.

Art Mead, disaster chairman of the American Red Cross office in Elyria, said the operator of the apartment complex, ABC Management, was working to get electricity back so people can move back into the building.

Mead said the Red Cross gave vouchers for motel rooms and meals to nine of the 11 displaced families. The other two displaced families made their own arrangements, he said. Mead said the displaced families the Red Cross is helping did not want to be interviewed for this story.

The Red Cross also provided clothing vouchers for the families because some of the tenants, including Larry Eccleston and his 14-year-old daughter Ellexus, escaped with only the clothes on their backs, Mead said.

Capt. David Igneczi said firefighters were hampered in fighting the fire by cuts in staffing levels.

When the fire was reported at 9:16 p.m., Igneczi said the minimum 14 firefighters were on duty. Thirteen responded to the fire, while one remained on dispatch duties, he said.

Three pumper trucks were sent to the fire, but the ladder truck also was needed because the fire was spreading to the roof, Igneczi said.

“It would have been much better and much safer for them to get the ladder up to the roof and open up the roof,” Igneczi said. “They had to tear the ceilings up and attack the fire from underneath.”

Extra personnel — four off-duty firefighters and four officers in the Fire Prevention Bureau — were called in, and the ladder truck arrived at
10:37 p.m., Igneczi said.

By that time, the first responders had torn open the ceilings on the third floor to fight the fire, Igneczi said.

“This was one of the first fires we had (since manning levels were cut) that the ladder truck could have helped,” Igneczi said.

When the fire was reported, the decision was made to take three pumper trucks to the fire, Saddler said. The pumper trucks each contain about 750 gallons of water that can be used immediately. The ladder truck only carries 200 gallons.

Saddler agreed that staffing levels played a part in fighting the fire but he refused to second-guess the decision to send three pumpers to the fire rather than two pumpers and the ladder truck.

“The more people you can throw at it — being a labor-intensive situation — the quicker you can reach your benchmarks to put out the fire,” Saddler said.

Elyria Mayor Bill Grace, who ordered that minimum manning levels be cut from 17 to 14, said he would look into complaints that staffing levels hampered efforts to fight the fire.

“No matter how many firefighters you have, there can always be the argument that more would be better,” Grace said.

Grace said the fire chief sets the protocol on when the ladder truck should be made available.

The fire department said two apartments on the third floor had the most damage.

Other departments also assisted in Wednesday’s fire. The Lorain Fire Department sent a pumper truck and an air truck to fill oxygen tanks while other firefighters from Lorain and Avon manned Elyria’s empty stations, Igneczi said.

As soon as electricity is restored — possibly today — most residents will be able to move back in, Mead said.

Anyone who wants to donate to the Local Disaster Relief Fund can call 324-2929 or send a check to the non-profit agency at 2929 West River Road N. in Elyria, Mead said.

Teresa Jones, a regional manager for ABC Management, did not return calls seeking comment.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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