Panel looks into June 9 fire

ROSSFORD, Ohio - Two weeks after an historic Old West End home caught fire and burned to the ground, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has set up an independent panel to look into fire hydrant pressure.

Three people will review information about the June 9 fire that destroyed Barbie Harrison's Mount Vernon home. Harrison believes her house would be standing today if there were more water pressure coming out of the fire hydrants near her property.

Two weeks ago Harrison's house was quickly engulfed by flames. She said a hydrant near home was not working and firefighters tried to find another one. While searching for another hydrant, the fire was left to breathe and grew out of control.

"We can definitely look at a house and know if it's going to have a good outcome or not," said Rossford Fire Chief Jim Verbosky, who added that in just a few seconds a house fire can double in size.

Fire Chief Verbosky, who has 25 years experience in fighting fires, said time is one of the most important factors in fighting flames. He said it appears firefighters did they best they could, but they just ran into a bad hydrant.

"Once the fire gets up in the wall, it usually runs the wall straight up to the attic," he said. "Once it gets in the attic, it's hard to save a home once it gets there."

Chief Verbosky believes it's not just the structure of the home that plays a role in whether or not they can successfully fight flames.

"We try to beat the time factor because there's a lot of time that goes by and fire doubles itself every two seconds."

Time for fire fighters includes the initial call, getting to their trucks, locating the fire, then hooking up the hose to the hydrant.

"The water lines, over time, if they're just moving water just for residential use, you know a four-inch line or six-inch line, the diameter gets smaller over time because of the calcium iron that flows through there pretty much get gunked up."

While Verbosky admits size does matter when it comes to the water lines in your neighborhood, the most important thing home owners need to be concerned with is calling the fire department quickly if there's a fire.

In most cities, smaller neighborhoods get smaller water lines, and you'll find that bigger water lines run near the main roads, Verbosky said.