CLEVELAND — Three homes were damaged after an abandoned house caught on fire early Thursday morning in Cleveland, with the lack of water to blame.
Fire crews responded to the 1600 block of Carlyon Road for a house fire, but it took 30 minutes for crews to apply water to the home, according to our CBS News affiliate, WOIO.
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Willie Bonner and Jaclyn Daugherty lived in one of the homes that was damaged and had been there for five years. The couple believed that the lack of water initially was what led to the fire destroying three homes.
“It took 30 minutes from the time we came outside until they were able to get water,” Bonner said.
A fire hydrant that was near the home was found knocked over and off its base. The couple said that the hydrant had been in that condition for more than a year.
Crews had to unroll hundreds of feet of hose, using a fire hydrant from Euclid Avenue. But by then, the fire had already spread to the other homes.
The fire had started in an abandoned home, next to Bonner and Daugherty’s home. The couple’s five children were away for the night.
“We literally stood in the middle of the street watching our house burn down,” said Daugherty.
Neighbors had alerted the two by throwing a brick through their window.
Bonner said that when he got out of bed, all he saw was glowing orange.
The couple was able to get out of the home safely with only the clothes on their backs. Now they are working through the process of replacing their belongings, identification documents, and bank cards.
The City of East Cleveland has not responded to requests for comment by our news affiliate WOIO regarding the fire investigation or the condition of the hydrants that were on the street.
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