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Crews battle multiple fires Tuesday morning near Avery Street

An unrelated fire Tuesday morning at the Savage Apartments on 13th Street destroyed a second-story apartment, but all occupants were able to escape and the apartment complex was evacuated. The cause of the fire was due to overloaded wiring and was ruled accidental. (Photo courtesy of the Parkersburg Fire Department)

PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg firefighters responded to three separate calls within a two-hour period Tuesday morning, with all of the fires occurring within a half-dozen blocks of one another.

Parkersburg Fire Chief Jason Matthews said the fires do not appear to be related.

The Parkersburg Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 4 a.m. on 19th Street. One house at 804 19th Street was fully involved, and the one next door at 806 19th Street was catching fire, he said. The two vacant homes had a clearance of about 3 feet between them, he said.

“The captain pulled everyone out of the (804) building,” Matthews said. “About 15 minutes after we had the ladder truck set up, the interior floors began to collapse.”

The home at 806 19th Street also sustained major damage, with its roof eventually collapsing. Both structures were demolished Tuesday afternoon as a precaution.

A fire Tuesday morning on the 800 block of 19th Street in Parkersburg destroyed two vacant homes. The cause of the fire is undetermined. (Photo by Michael Erb)

Tuesday morning the temperature hovered in the high teens, and additional firefighters had to be called in due to issues with ice and cold. City crews were called in to put salt on the road and sidewalks. Matthews said one Parkersburg firefighter was burned while fighting the blaze, but was checked out and remained on-scene.

Matthews said due to the massive damage, the exact cause of the fire could not be determined. No utilities were hooked up to the houses, and Matthews said neighbors and the property owner said there had been issues in the past of squatters building fires within the homes to keep warm.

“Once we were able to get the debris moved and get in, we did a thorough search and didn’t find anyone. So, if anyone was in there when it started, they got out,” Matthews said. “We don’t know if someone built a fire to get warm. We can’t rule that out. We also don’t know if it was a fire that was set on purpose. So we’re leaving this one undetermined.”

Matthews said if anyone saw anything or has any information concerning the 19th Street fire, they can contact the Parkersburg Fire Department at 1-304-424-8470 or the Parkersburg Police Department’s Detectives Bureau at 1-304-424-8440.

At 5:33 a.m. Tuesday, Wood County 911 received a call about a fire in a second-floor apartment at Savage Apartments at 405 13th Street. Matthews said because firefighters were already on-scene at the 19th Street fire, about six blocks away from the apartment complex, Blennerhassett and Vienna fire departments were called for mutual aid.

An unrelated fire Tuesday morning at the Savage Apartments on 13th Street destroyed a second-story apartment, but all occupants were able to escape and the apartment complex was evacuated. The cause of the fire was due to overloaded wiring and was ruled accidental. (Photo by Michael Erb)

Matthews said all occupants of the apartment got out safely and the apartment complex was evacuated. One Parkersburg firefighter suffered burns on his hands and was taken to the local emergency room, evaluated and released.

Matthews said the fire was determined to be accidental and was due to overloaded wiring. Damage to the apartment was heavy and there was smoke damage in the area above the apartment and water damage in the area below, but the fire did not spread to surrounding parts of the building.

At 5:53 a.m. Tuesday, a call came in concerning an electrical panel on fire at 1617 Avery Street, about a block away from the 19th Street fire. Matthews said he and other first responders were able to put out the fire with an extinguisher.

There was minimal damage and the fire was considered accidental, also due to overloaded wiring, Matthews said.

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