Fire drama in the afternoon: Hermitage woman on oxygen makes lucky escape

Michael Roknick, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·2 min read

May 5—HERMITAGE — No one was injured in a Wednesday afternoon fire at a multi-unit apartment complex in Hermitage, but firefighters had some anxious moments dealing with filled oxygen tanks in an apartment near the blaze.

Around 1:30 p.m. Karen Rodgers said she was relaxing in her room at Shenango Park Apartments when she heard loud sounds from the complex's basement.

"There's some type of equipment down there that takes away the moisture, and it's been acting up lately with a lot of noise," Rodgers said. "But today it got really loud."

She opened her apartment's door for a better listen. Rodgers, who has a medical condition requiring the use of an oxygen tank, headed into the hall.

As she opened the door, "I got slapped with a blast of hot, black smoke and could hear smoke detectors going off. I knew there had to be a fire somewhere."

Then the electricity shorted out.

After that, events moved swiftly.

Rodgers said she was more concerned about her neighbors and began shouting there was a fire.

"We have a lot of older people who live here," she said. "I had to make sure everybody was OK."

Mercer County 911 dispatched city firefighters, who arrived at the Parke Drive complex to help Rodgers out of the building as she continued breathing from her oxygen tank.

Neighbors loaned her a chair and she sat outside while firefighters poured into the building's basement.

"I told them I had a couple other oxygen canisters in my apartment," Rodgers said.

The presence of oxygen tanks made the blaze more hazardous — the compressed gas inside was highly flammable. But firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze with damage limited mostly to the basement, Hermitage fire Chief John Flynn said.

The blaze likely was caused by equipment in the basement, Flynn said. He didn't immediately know who owned the apartment complex, as it has been sold multiple times in recent years.

Patagonia, Sharon and Farrell fire departments assisted.

As firefighters left, a strong smoke odor lingered in Rodgers' apartment, preventing her from returning immediately. Arrangements were made for her to live elsewhere for a while, Flynn said.

"We were very, very lucky here," he said.

Rodgers said she was pleased with the outcome.

"I'm just glad everyone got out," Rodgers said.