4 fires keep Slippery Rock department, others busy Thursday
Firefighters at Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team worked “around the clock” Thursday, Dec. 28, responding to four fires and their daily jobs alike.
Between midnight and 10 p.m. Thursday, crews from the volunteer department responded to a fire at a group home in Mercer County, an apartment fire in Slippery Rock Township, a pellet stove malfunctioning in Slippery Rock borough and a camper fire at Moraine Camplands in Brady Township.
“Everyone went to work yesterday and everyone’s at work today,” Chief Ryan Hanchosky said of his crews. “Those guys definitely put some work in throughout the day.”
Starting at 12:13 a.m., the crew responded to a group home on Slippery Rock Road in Liberty Township, Mercer County, for light smoke conditions. Hanchosky said firefighters discovered a belt had burned on the furnace. The crew stayed on scene to ventilate the smoke.
Firefighters went home to their families and off to work, but when they came home for the evening, they were called out again, Hanchosky said.
A fire alarm went off just before 7 p.m. at an apartment complex on Fairview Drive in Slippery Rock Township. The alarm was quickly upgraded to a structure fire.
“We believe a cat jumped up on the stove and turned it up to high,” Hanchosky said.
According to the fire chief, only two cats were in the apartment when the blaze began. A curtain was touching the stove, which Hanchosky said could have started the fire.
“The cops got there and found the flames coming from the first floor window,” he said.
Crews were able to contain the fire to the kitchen area, and both cats are “alive and well.”
While responding to the fire at Fairview Drive, firefighters received another call for smoke in a residence on Parklane Drive in Slippery Rock.
The call came in at 7:03 p.m., prompting fire departments to redirect some resources to the new call.
“We treat every fire alarm likes it’s real up until we prove otherwise,” Hanchosky said.
According to Hanchosky, the homeowner reported that the pellet stove was malfunctioning. The responding crews only had to ventilate the home, he said.
The night wasn’t over yet though for the first responders. At 8:56 p.m., a call came in about a camper fire at Moraine Camplands in Brady Township.
Slippery Rock’s crew finished their night shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday.
Hanchosky said his crew is doing well, despite the busy day they had.
“They’re doing great. It’s what we trained for and it’s what we’re here to do,” he said of the responses.
Other crews that responded to Fairview Drive and Parklane Drive were Prospect Volunteer Fire Department, Unionville and Harrisville volunteer fire companies, Pine Township Engine Company and Slippery Rock EMS.
