News
Fire reignites debate over whether north side's Station 7 should close
Youngstown Battalion Chief Jimmy Drummond said, "Crews from Fire Station 7 were first on the scene. They beat me here from downtown and they had a line off on the fire by the time I got here."
Tuesday, October 22nd 2019, 9:47 PM EDT
Updated:

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -
An abandoned apartment complex on Broadway owned by the city caught fire and quickly went up in flames.
The wind carried the flames next door to a home being renovated by Robert Pilolli. Pilolli said, "I bought it in 2015 and have been working on renovating it. Members of the Wick Park Neighborhood Association have done a lot of work to try and make this area better. The building has been empty for over ten years, and they haven't done anything with it. The city owns it. We have had problems with vagrants going in and out. We kept it boarded up, and YNDC, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, has come here and boarded it up.
Youngstown Battalion Chief Jimmy Drummond said, "Crews from Fire Station 7 were first on the scene. They beat me here from downtown, and they had a line off on the fire by the time I got here. That was really helpful in containing the damage done to the one home. The wind was blowing in the other direction, and the flames and heat spread to that house, which was vacant but being renovated. Youngstown has a lot of vacant buildings like this one. People think they're just vacant homes, but they are often right next to an occupied home, and the people who live right next to the vacant homes need to be protected too."
Drummond was coordinating the fire attack and looking out for the safety of the firefighters who had responded. 21 News asked him whether there is an impact when there are not enough battalion chiefs on a major fire scene like this one.
Drummond said, "I took command when I got here and directed the operations, called for several extra companies because of the size of the fire and exposure to the nearby homes. We have two-battalion chief's here at this scene. For a fire like this, our command staff needs to be more than one because there are so many companies moving around different sides of the fire, on the roof, while others on the ground. There are a lot more aspects to it than that. But that is one of the big aspects of safety. We do believe this is a major safety factor for our firefighters at scenes attacking the fires."
At one point, two buildings were on fire. Both were massive structures.
Attorney Mark Hanni, who owns a home next door, is thankful Fire Station 7 is still open and that Youngstown firefighters were able to protect the people living there.
Attorney Mark Hanni, who owns a home next door, is thankful Fire Station 7 is still open and that Youngstown firefighters were able to protect the people living there.
Hanni said, "I believe all neighbors on the north side deserve the closest fire service. We pay taxes for a public service such as fire, police, the street departments. We don't need the city spending money on exorbitant hotels downtown, new toilets, new faucets, which were done illegally, to begin with. We need our public services maintained."
Fighting the fire, which took all city crews, but one has fanned the flames over whether the city administration should close Station 7 and do away with three battalion chiefs who oversee the safety of potentially dangerous fire attacks. The city has cited finances for its plans.
Fighting the fire, which took all city crews, but one has fanned the flames over whether the city administration should close Station 7 and do away with three battalion chiefs who oversee the safety of potentially dangerous fire attacks. The city has cited finances for its plans.
21 News asked Chief Barry Finley if Station 7 would have been closed would it have had an impact. Chief Finley said, "In this case, it would not have made a difference because the apartment was vacant. Had it been occupied, it could have made a difference because fires typically double in size around every 30 seconds."
There was no estimate on damages at the time. The apartment complex that could house 12 tenants was bulldozed over.
There was no estimate on damages at the time. The apartment complex that could house 12 tenants was bulldozed over.
Youngstown Code Enforcement and Blight Remediation Superintendent Michael Durkin said, "We have an emergency situation, so we are using funds to have a private contractor tear down the structure. It is too large for our equipment. Now that is is almost gone, it will be a lot less expensive. Our city workers will come in here and finish the cleanup. We wish we had the money to tear down all the abandoned, blighted structures, but we just don't."