‘Heavy’ industrial fire in Cleveland spread to homes
CLEVELAND (WJW) – A massive warehouse fire in Cleveland’s Slavic Village sent flames shooting into the sky Monday morning, forcing nearby families to evacuate their homes and rattling an entire neighborhood.
Firefighters said the four-alarm fire broke out near East 65th Street and Selma Avenue just before 11 a.m.z, quickly escalating into one of the most intense blazes they’ve fought this year.
One of the families forced to flee said their 17-year-old daughter was the only one home at the time.
“I woke to police banging on the door,” said Neveah Johnson. “They asked if anyone was in the house, I said my sister and my dog.”
Thankfully, everyone made it out safely, as explosions from inside the warehouse began to rock the neighborhood.
(Cleveland Division of Fire)
(Cleveland Division of Fire)
(Cleveland Division of Fire)
(Cleveland Division of Fire)
(Cleveland Division of Fire)
(Cleveland Division of Fire)
Cleveland Fire Lt. Mike Norman told FOX 8 that what began as a standard response grew rapidly.
“We just needed the manpower on scene,” Norman said. “We ended up with 20 companies, 80 firefighters.”
No injuries were reported, but firefighters inside the building faced a dangerous and unpredictable fire.
“We had some tanks inside. You could hear them letting go,” Norman said. “There were several explosions we heard. We had a partial wall collapse.”
The fire eventually spread to a second building and threatened nearby homes, prompting multiple evacuations.
Norman said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, he confirmed that roofing materials stored inside the warehouse helped accelerate the flames, making them spread more rapidly.
“It was a tricky fire to fight,” Norman added. “We were fighting it defensively. When we go to a fire, we want to put it out by the source. But in a fire like this, it becomes a surround and drown.”
Even hours after crews gained control, smoke still lingered in the air and for the families impacted, so did the uncertainty.
“We don’t know,” Johnson said. “My coworker said that if we needed to stay with her, we could.”
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