ELKINS, W.Va. — Four Randolph County families are displaced after a Wednesday afternoon fire in Elkins.
The fire began around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon at an apartment building on Kerens Avenue, keeping crews on scene until after 7 p.m., according to Elkins Fire Chief Tom Meader.
“There was a lot of overhaul to be done because it got up in the heaves, so we were physically probably on scene for two hours,” Meader said. “The fire was probably under control within the first hour, but there was a lot of cleanup, a lot of hot spots and removing smoke. Probably with all, we probably knocked it down within the first 45 minutes to where we could really get in it and do an aggressive overhaul.”
Meader estimates the damage to the building between $50,000 and $60,000.
“There’s four apartments in there and a lot of smoke,” he said. “We just rough guessed it, and they (the Fire Marshal) don’t go by our reports anyway. I put down in my report around $55,000.”
Residents of the apartments were home at the time of the fire but were able to escape without injury. Meader said the local American Red Cross is volunteering efforts to help those who lost their home and belongings.
“There’s two gentlemen who are pipeliners and said they already got a motel,” he said. “The rest of the family members, the Red Cross took care of them. They came on scene, and the Red Cross put them in motels.”
With temperatures in Elkins topping 90 Wednesday, officials report that one firefighter was treated for heat-related injuries. No additional injuries are reported.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is arriving on scene Thursday to investigate.