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Three stations control rising flames

Firefighters work to contain and bring the blaze under control at Paul Adams boyhood home on Carolina Avenue in Liverpool township. (Photo by Patti Schaeffer)

EAST LIVERPOOL — A Liverpool Township man is homeless after a fire destroyed his boyhood home Saturday night.

Township fire crews were called around 10:30 p.m. to 252 Carolina Avenue after resident Paul Adams returned home to find heavy smoke surrounding the structure. Upon arrival, fire crews found thick smoke and fire inside the back and basement areas, quickly spreading to the upstairs area of the house.

Over 30 firefighters — which also included assistance from the Calcutta and Glenmoor departments — worked through a steady onslaught of snow showers for over three hours to contain and extinguish the fire.

According to Liverpool Township fire chief Dave Ward, the snow and ice-covered roads caused some problems for those working on the scene, including AEP, who arrived to disconnect the power to the house about 30 to 45 minutes after they were notified.

“We had a big problem with AEP to get the power shut off because of the condition of the roads,” Ward said.

Another problem fire crews encountered were issues with some of the fire hydrants in that area. Ward said one hydrant on Carolina Avenue did not function, and crews used a nearby one at the corner of Maplewood and Fisher avenues, but then had to utilize a tanker when the second hydrant had issues with water pressure.

“We ended up catching the one on Maplewood and Fisher,” Ward said. “We also used a tanker at the scene because we weren’t getting much water pressure from the one on Maplewood and Fisher.”

The East Liverpool City Fire Department ambulance was called to the scene to check over Paul Adams, who was reported to be OK. No other injuries were reported.

The house is owned by Paul Adams’ older brothers, Chuck and Jim Adams. Chuck was on the scene and said the basement area of the house was built in the 1940’s with the upstairs area constructed in the mid 1950’s. Chuck reminisced about growing up in the home and remembered with a smile on his face the time he fell through the upstairs floor when he was young.

Firefighters cleared the scene and returned to their station around 4 a.m. Although the home was insured, it was considered to be a total loss.

Ward said it has been undetermined how the fire began, and the exact cause remains under investigation.

Liverpool Township police were also at the scene to provide traffic and scene control, while Wellsville fire crews were on standby from station no. 8 as backup.

Reporter Steve Rappach contributed to this story.

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