City of Logan Firefighters pose for a picture after successfully extinguishing another abandon structure fire in Mt. Gay on Friday, December 23rd. PHOTO | City of Logan Fire Department
WVOW News
LOGAN COUNTY, W.Va. Firefighters with the City of Logan, Main Island Creek and other local fire deparments were kept busy most of the Christmas weekend.
City of Logan responded last Friday, December 23 to a structure fire at Mt. Gay. Firefighters endured sub-zero wind chill and temperatures to fend off flames at the former Steel Horse Lounge location.
The building was abandoned and suspected arson. Fire Chief Scott Beckett said a lot of times the fires are results of warming fires getting out of control.
“The county is nice enough to open warming centers and you can’t get people to go,” Beckett said.
That sentiment was echoed by Roger Bryant, Director of Logan County Emergency Management. Bryant said several individuals sacrificed part of their Christmas holiday to operate the warming centers at Cora Volunteer Fire Department, the Tracy Vickers Community Center at Chapmanville, the Man Nazarene Church and the Logan Resource Center at Peach Creek.
“We didn’t have very many people show up which is usually the case,” Bryant said on the December 27 edition of WVOW’s “What’s Your Opinion?” talkshow. “Opening the shelters is the easy part. It’s finding people to man them and getting people to use them appropriately is the challenge.”
Bryant said the warming centers have been a part of the county’s action plan for a while.
The City of Logan also assisted Main Island Creek Volunteer Fire Department with a structure fire in the Upper Omar area before seven o’clock Christmas morning.
Chapmanville’s Fire Department responded to a house fire on Hallmark Drive just after 5 a.m. Christmas Eve morning. Crews endured temperatures of 4 degrees and - 16 wind chill. No injuries were reported. That fire was assisted by Harts, Henlawson and Lake Volunteer Fire Departments. PHOTO | Chapmanville Fire Department
Both Logan and Main Island Creek department’s battled the structure fire for nearly two hours.
All occupants of the home made it out safely and no injuries were reported.
The fire has been ruled “non-intentional” by the fire department, but the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. Witness accounts indicate a possible electrical ignition, according to Main Island.
Firefighters also set-up a landing zone at Omar Football Field Monday morning, the day after Christmas. A patient required a helicopter transport after falling on ice.