Sunday morning fire damages building in Uhrichsville apartment complex

Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter
·2 min read
Firefighters gather outside an apartment building at 200 Claymont Drive, Uhrichsville, after a fire damaged apartments on the third floor of the building Sunday morning.
Firefighters gather outside an apartment building at 200 Claymont Drive, Uhrichsville, after a fire damaged apartments on the third floor of the building Sunday morning.

UHRICHSVILLE ‒ Fire caused significant damage to a portion of a three-story apartment building in the Jaycee Village housing complex in Uhrichsville on Sunday morning.

Firefighters were called to 200 Claymont Drive at 10:37 a.m.

Other fires in the county: Strasburg firefighters and others respond to separate fires at Sugarcreek Shavings

Nicole Cooper, a resident of a neighboring building, was sitting outside when the fire started. She called 911 and the apartment complex maintenance department. Then she went inside the building to alert residents.

"I went through the whole first floor, all the way, knocking on doors, saying 'There's a fire! Get out!'" she said.

The fire originated in a third-floor apartment in a corner of the building, according to Uhrichsville Fire Chief Justin Edwards.

"When crews got here, there was heavy fire coming out the windows. It was going up onto the roof. We made a really good, aggressive hit on it and got the bulk of the fire knocked down," he said. Firefighters helped one resident from the building.

There were no major injuries. However, one resident was transported to an Akron area hospital for evaluation, he said. One firefighter sustained a minor injury but was not transported.

The extent of the damage

At least eight apartments on the third floor have some smoke staining and damage. There was significant fire damage to the apartment where the fire started, as well as two adjoining apartments.

Firefighters were called to a blaze Sunday morning at a three-story apartment building at 200 Claymont Drive, Uhrichsville.
Firefighters were called to a blaze Sunday morning at a three-story apartment building at 200 Claymont Drive, Uhrichsville.

In addition, there was water damage to apartments on the second and first floors, Edwards said. Half of the building was affected in some way.

The Red Cross was called to the scene to help find housing for displaced residents.

Edwards said there is no cause for the fire at this time. The State Fire Marshal, Uhrichsville's fire investigator and the chief will work to determine a cause.

Uhrichsville was assisted at the scene by firefighters from Dennison, New Philadelphia, Dover, Warwick Township, the Arrowhead Joint Fire District in Gnadenhutten, the Delaware Valley Joint Fire District in Port Washington and Rush Township, as well as Smith Ambulance and Tri-County Ambulance in Newcomerstown.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Firefighters battle blaze at Uhrichsville apartment complex