Family homeless after Spruce Street fire
Jan. 9—A family of five was left homeless Monday when fire swept through a neighbor's house, then engulfed theirs on the city's Lower East Side.
The fire broke out less than 24 hours after New Castle firefighters were called back three times to a blaze at the former Days Inn hotel and The Centre Banquet Facility downtown Sunday. It was the fourth significant fire city firefighters fought since Christmas.
The city fire department initially was summoned Monday around 6 a.m. to 609 Spruce St. and arrived to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the second and third floors. The firefighters entered the house and started extinguishing the fire, until the flames spread through the roof and started spreading, igniting the neighboring house, according to Chief Mike Kobbe. The firefighters then shifted their efforts to 607 Spruce St.
The vacant house at 609 Spruce St. ignited first.
"Squatters were exiting the structure when we got there," Kobbe said.
The house had been condemned and was posted for demolition by New Castle's code enforcement department, which was in the process of advertising for bids for the demolition, Kobbe said. The listed out-of-state owner in the county assessment office is Shawn McGee of East Amherst, New York.
According to Lawrence County court records, the house had been put up for sale at a recent county upset tax sale because back taxes had been owed on it for two years. The property did not sell and was scheduled to be sold in the county's free and clear sale in the spring. About $1,745 was owed in back taxes, not including taxes for 2022.
Kobbe said that when the flames spread to 607 Spruce St., the family escaped their burning home safely, he said, but flames consumed a good portion of it and they were left homeless.
Kobbe said the cause of the initial fire inside 609 is unknown but suspicious, "and the roof is in the basement at this point. It's a total loss."
The American Red Cross provided the family at 607 Spruce St. with temporary shelter. That house was owned and occupied by Thomas Klingensmith and his family, according to county assessment office records.
"That house is going to be a total loss as well, because the structural members were compromised," Kobbe said.
The house at 611 Spruce St., on the other neighboring side of 609, was protected from flame or heat damage, except for on cracked window on the back of the house.
Altogether, 18 firefighters responded from the city fire department, and the Shenango Area Fire District also had members assisting at the scene. The Union Township Volunteer Fire Department stood by at the central station to cover any additional calls, Kobbe said.
No injuries were reported.
