HARRISON TOWNSHIP — New information is being uncovered about a devastating apartment fire in Harrison Township that forced 40 people out of their homes.
Around 7:30 p.m. Harrison Township fire crews were called to the 4100 block of Idle Hour Circle to reports of a fire alarm at an apartment complex, according to Harrison Twp. Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Nangle.
The fire likely started on a second-floor deck as someone tried to barbeque, but the flames caught material there on fire and flames quickly grew out of control.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 1 taken to hospital, 40 displaced after large apartment fire in Harrison Twp.
One resident had to be rescued from a second-floor walkway and a firefighter needed stitches when glass shattered and cut his hand.
Several days of rumors about how it started are now over.
News Center 7 obtained the preliminary report which classified the fire as an accident.
The report indicates the fire is believed to have begun when an open flame from a grill sparked flames on a balcony.
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“Put a lot of people at risk, thankfully no one was hurt,” said Desiree Spann. who said her apartment is only about three down from where firefighters stopped the flames.
She feels bad for the people that lost everything, and it also hasn’t been easy for the residents living in the undamaged apartments in the interconnected building.
News Center 7 spotted contractors putting fencing in place to block off burned-out apartments and plumbing contractors trying to restore water service to dozens of residents.
Even that effort has seen setbacks.
“Now it’s off again because when they turned it on, a pipe burst in a different apartment, so yeah, we’re without again,” Spann said.
Investigators estimated the total losses to property is $400,000 and another $150,000 of content losses inside apartments. That’s a total loss of more than a half-million dollars.
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