Apartment fire displaces more than 40

Dec. 27--SHARON -- A Christmas night fire at a public housing complex left more than 40 people homeless.

Sharon Fire Department was dispatched to a fire alarm before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at George J. Vermeire Manor, 325 Columbia St., Sharon. Sharon fire Chief Bob Fiscus said firefighters knew right away that something was wrong.

The Mercer County Housing Authority owns the complex.

"Coming out of the corner of the fire station, we could see heavy smoke coming across the plaza and we could see the flames coming from the Irvine Avenue side of the building," Fiscus said.

The fire started in a unit on the fourth floor of the building's eastern wing and was ruled as accidental. Fiscus said the fire is believed to have been caused when someone spilled a paint thinner-like substance.

Fumes from the substance were ignited by a nearby gas stove.

"The fire didn't reach too far, with one room sustaining extreme damage and another with moderate damage," Fiscus said. "Some of the lower floors have suffered from water filtering through the ceiling."

Responding fire departments included Sharon, Farrell, Hermitage, Sharpsville, West Middlesex, Shenango Township, South Pymatuning Township, Mercer East End, Brookfield and Eagle Joint Fire District from Ohio. McGonigle and Elite EMS ambulance services were also on scene, as well as the Mercer County Emergency Management Agency, Fiscus said.

Fiscus said firefighters brought the blaze under control within about 40 minutes, with some firefighters making sure all of the residents escaped, while other responders cut holes in the building's roof to vent smoke and superheated gasses.

"We needed so many different departments not just because it was such a large structure, but because there were so many people living there," he said. "It was a great effort because all the departments really came together and helped to minimize the damage."

Those displaced by the fire were initially taken to the Sharon city building as a temporary shelter, Fiscus said. Residents were then sent to the Quality Inn in Hermitage. About 43 people were housed Wednesday at the hotel, said Holly Campbell, executive director of the Mercer County Housing Authority.

"They really all came together," Campbell said. "The firemen came from all over the surrounding community to make sure our people were safe and they had somewhere to go."

Representatives of the authority's insurance company will inspect Vermeire Manor next week to determine when the displaced residents to return home. Until the building is reopened, Campbell said the housing authority was working with the Red Cross and Salvation Army to look after the residents while management and maintenance staff were able to allow the residents to retrieve some belongings from the building Wednesday.

"Brick and mortar can be replaced, but I'm just glad that nobody was seriously injured," she said.

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