Rayland houses destroyed
• Two firefighters injuredBy BETTY J. POKAS, Times Leader Area Editor
POSTED: September 8, 2008
Article Photos
FIVE FIRE departments and the Belmont County Tanker Task Force battled a blaze which destroyed two houses Sunday in Rayland, and help for the four fire victims was forthcoming while firefighters were still on the scene.
Rayland Mayor Tammy Morelli, who is a member of the Tiltonsville Volunteer Fire Department, said the four occupants of the destroyed duplex on Main Street lost everything, and efforts are under way to try to get a collection of money, clothes and "anything they need."
Among the earliest donors were members of the Tiltonsville United Methodist Church where a collection of money was taken during the Sunday morning service while the firefighting still was under way in Rayland.
Morelli said the Red Cross was at the scene, and the Salvation Army is going to provide help.
The occupants of the duplex were able to leave their home without injury. The blaze began around 3:30 a.m. in an abandoned house and spread to the neighboring duplex, occupied by two people on each side.
Lt. Mary Doughty of the Rayland Volunteer Fire Department said fire departments from Rayland, Tiltonsville, Yorkville, Dillonvale and Martins Ferry helped to fight the flames, and water was transported to the scene by the Belmont County Tanker Task Force.
Doughty said checking will be done about the low water pressure, which was a problem for the firefighters.
Referring to the low pressure, Mayor Morelli said, "We're going to be looking into that."
Morelli added Rayland officials intend to check with officials from Tiltonsville, which supplies water to Rayland. Plans are to do some hydrant testing, and she said it isn't known if it is a hydrant or pressure problem.
A representative from the state fire marshal's office was on the scene to check about the cause of the fire, according to Doughty, whose husband is Fire Chief Jim Doughty. As of this morning, a report hadn't been received from the fire marshal's office.
She also said the blaze began in a bedroom on the top floor of the abandoned house, which has been vacant for years. The destroyed houses both were two-story and wood frame.
The fire "was fully engulfed when the department arrived," Doughty said.
Two firefighters sustained injuries during the fire. Morelli suffered a shoulder injury, and Emily Beck sustained a burn, according to Doughty. Dillonvale Emergency Medical Services transported Morelli to East Ohio Regional Hospital at Martins Ferry where she was treated and released.
Firefighters were on the scene until after 1 p.m. Doughty added, "It was a long night."
Pokas can be reached at timesleader@timesleaderonline.com.
Member Comments
View Comments: | 1-14 | Post a comment
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nopatienceforhypocrites
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09-28-08 4:54 AM
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...once beautiful community.
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nopatienceforhypocrites
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09-28-08 4:52 AM
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In August 2007, a house was destroyed by fire on Grandview Street in Rayland. At that time, it was realized that the village had serious water pressure problems. Fast forward thirteen months, and two more homes are destroyed by fire due mostly in part to...water pressure problems. So, I'm wondering what it will take for Rayland village council to finally address this ongoing problem, rather than continue to waste time at council meetings arguing over dog poop and how big the "Welcome to Rayland" sign should be? It is true that people who live in this village are worried that, should their homes catch on fire, they will lose everything because there isn't enough water pressure to extinguish the fire. Council, please take into consideration the entire village instead of the concerns of the few that sit around your table twice a month, so that tragedies like these can be avoided in the future. Piles of burnt rubble that used to be homes make it difficult to be proud of this
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 7:47 PM
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Maybe someone in the village can make a donation to help financially. There are many ways to volunteer and to be a member of the fire department. As for 6 people getting turned down by the fire department. That is something that they have to deal with. I can only guess that there were some issues with the applicants that wanted to join. There are more agressive background and history checks being done by the fire service today than ever because of certification issues. Could possibly be a reason. In the end, it comes down to the Rayland Fire Department doing the best they can with what they have, and if that is not good enough for some that critique or armchair quarterback each incident than so be it. There is no reason that I see for these men-women-boys-girls not to hold their head up. And again, become part of the solution instead of part of the problem with your department.
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 7:40 PM
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Instead of taking your ball and going home, why not try to mentor some of these people that you consider to young to run a department. We were all young once, and these people need support from the village, ex-members that have some good insight, (not negativity), to assist them. Maybe someone in the village knows how to write grants to help them get funds to better their equipment, maybe someone in the village has the time to handle finances for them a litter better, maybe someone in the village has time to record their scenes so that they can view and correct issues at scenes, maybe someone in the village has time to assist with fundraisers so that they can purchase more equipment and be able to pay bills and to maintain equipment properly, maybe someone in the village can volunteer as a firefighter, maybe someone in the village can be an administration officer freeing up time for fire line officers to wear one hat instead of many within the department.
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 7:32 PM
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Until all departments can safely function at a fire or emergency scene, mistakes will happen. It is by far the one of the most dangerous jobs one can do, and to volunteer their time and pay dues to do this job says alot of the people. They do not know if they will come home after each incident nor do they know if they will be injured seriously and can not work again or live a meaningful life again. These members do what they can with what they have. Maybe, everything they do is not correct, and we would hope that they would learn from each mistake and not replicate it again and again which I see them trying to correct probelms. Firefighters by tradition are agressive in nature and I see these members trying to be progressive instead of be reactionary. Maybe with time these younger members will become really good at leading their newere members in the future. I condsider them good people now for at least trying to do what some don't,won't, or can't.
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 7:20 PM
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As for contacting the State Fire Marshalls office or County EMA to look into problems within the fire department. First off, the clounty EMA has no control on this matter,and according to the OFM the department is within the respected requirements for a fire department within the state of Ohio. It would seem more as if there is grudge to grind than anything else. Become part of the solution instead of becoming part of the problem. There are to this day many firefighters with years of experience that still miss the tell tale signs of building collapse or any other safety factor, such as flashover, or backdraft, floor collapse, ceiling collapse, or many other to numerous to get into. Truth is, there are still to many firefighters dying in America today, yesterday, and tommorrow until better safety practices and better equipment can be put into place, and cost shared with the local, state, and federal agencies.
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 7:11 PM
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on arrival of the fire department, there was little to be done to actually stop the spread of the fire to the exposure, even though it was attempted by the department and its mutual-aid department. Not having enough GPM to flow a master stream device, or to flow enough to support a hand line properly was the problem that was compounded by the safety issue of live electrical lines. I agree with the last post that these men-women-boys-girls give up their time freely,and if you were the chief before in that department you should be aware of the time it takes to complete all their trainings and to raise funds to support the department as well as to go to their own jobs and to have time with their families.
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 7:04 PM
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The village like the fire department has to work with limited finacial support but is taking this job on no matter what the cost is, so that this does not happen again, and in the meantime, the fire department has taken the stance of automatically initiating the tanker task force of Belmont County and local tankers to respond on reports of all structure fires within the village on a first call system that notifies these departments at the time the department gets notification. As for equipment that should have been out of service for over a year and a half, or a broken pump on their apparatus, the engine worked and pumped what it was able to get from the hydrant and mutual-aid when it arrived. Truth is, with their tank water and mutual-aid tank water available, and with the safety consideration of downed live power lines between the first structure and the second, the second building unfortunately did catch fire and ruin it as well. With the amount of fire from the first structure
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supportfirefighters
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09-12-08 6:57 PM
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First of all, the Rayland Fire Department does have some young members and leaders in it at this time, and these people have been trying to build up the fire department the way it should be with assistance from many other departments along the way. Granted, they may not have the newest and best equipment as do other departments of larger villages, cities, townships, and cities, but they do have what they have and yes, some of it was left over from years ago, and borrowed and begged for. They do however, do the best they can with the tools they have at hand. As for some of the other post, the truth is, not all structure fires in Rayland have ended in a total loss of the structure in the past year or past few years. There have been several saves credited to the fire department and its mutual-aid departments that assist them when needed. As for the water supply system, the village is currently taking steps to alleviate the problem now that it has been identified
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FamilyMan
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09-10-08 10:59 PM
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I wouldnt think the whole village is outraged about the fire. I live in town, and I beleave they did everything they could with what they have. They give their free time to do something for free. That I could not or never want to do. I was there watching most of the night. All I can say is Good Job to all of the Departments that were there. And to those not happy, There are other towns to live in..........
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blackjewel7
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09-08-08 9:56 PM
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I always feel for those who lose their homes like this. There are so many things that can never be replaced. What I would like to know is why the photographer that took this shot was not credited. He has taken some amazing photos of the Ohio Valley and is a great emotional photographer. For goodness sake, the man is not asking for anything, the least you could do is credit him for his capture of this sad situation? Hello???
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FireSaftey4All
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09-08-08 8:00 PM
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Now granted, all departments are in need of members, but there are at least 6 people that have tried to get on, and were refused due to certain members actions to block them. How would this department who is controlled by young kids that do not even have the training that I mandated for my Jr. Firemen. How do they expect to run a department and put others lives in their hands when they are in control of a scene and send somone into a house when they dont even know the signs to look for in a collapse? People....This needs to stop here, before we have a tragedy on our hands between the water pressure and the dept.Could you imagine if we had another fire and God forbid the family couldnt get out! Until something happens, everyone please pray with me that there are no other fires, at least until we can get this situation under control!
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FireSaftey4All
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09-08-08 7:59 PM
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:: check into the credentials of the firefighters on that department. There are several infractions and we want the public to take notice and help turn this great community of ours into one that we can be proud of! This latest Fire involved two structures, in which the second structure was occupied. There is about a 50 foot span between the two houses, the first fire was an abanded house that was almost fully involved by the time the fire dept. arrived. This house was clearly in a state of "Surround and Drown" due to collapse at any minute. Why then...when the first arriving company arrived, they did not put a line on the closest exposure to protect it?! Because of this, we now lost a house after it caught on fire about 30 minutes after the first in company arrived! Do to this, we now have 2 families in need of supplies, which all could have been avoided in the first place! This is why we need someone to investigate this matter and protect the citizens from this happening!
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FireSaftey4All
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09-08-08 7:58 PM
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The entire village is outraged about this fire! This is a very terrible thing to have happened here. The village of Rayland has known there are severe water pressure problems throught town for at least the past 5 years.During this time, there have been numerous fires in town, all which were a complete loss due to water pressure and as in the case of this latest fire, lack of training, apparatus in service that should have been placed out of order almost a year and a half ago! We the citizens of Rayland are calling for an investigation into these matters, along with having the State Fire Marshall's Office and Jefferson County EMA to check into the ..........
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