MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Investigators are looking for a cause of the fire that destroyed at least three Ashton Place townhomes Monday.
Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom lives about two blocks from the fire scene which is off Route 73 just south of Morgantown. He was heading home around 11:30 a.m. for lunch following a meeting of the Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“They are townhouse units with five or six in a unit, and it was in the middle of one of the units where it appears the fire started,” Bloom said during an appearance Tuesday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “The wind was starting to blow south and it was headed to another unit; in fact, they were about 10 feet away.”
Firefighters from nearly a dozen departments in Monongalia and Marion counties initially responded but Bloom said the addition of the Morgantown Fire Department ladder truck was key to stopping the fire’s momentum.
“They were able to put out the fire that was just about to start in the second building,” Bloom said. “You look at the second building, and you can see it melted, but it hadn’t caught fire yet, so it was just great timing.”
Units at 982, 984, and 986 Ashton Place sustained the most severe damage. There were no injuries reported, but one dog died at the scene. No damage estimate is available. A GoFundMe account has been established to help the residents.
“We’re looking at three that are totally gone, one that was 90 percent damaged, and one that was not touched at all,” Bloom said.
Bloom said the units were so close together that firefighters had to attack the blaze from a different angle to stop the spread.
“Thanks to the city of Morgantown and their fire chief and fire department because their ladder saved several units—no doubt about it,” Bloom said. “If they weren’t there we would not have saved that second building.”
Bloom said the fire scene is less than two miles from Morgantown city limits and plans to explore options to improve response in areas close to the city limits.
“Maybe when the levy comes up again we put the city of Morgantown in that levy with the volunteer fire departments so we have a first call or if there are certain townhouse communities that might want to pay a fee to have them on call.”
Volunteer firefighters from Clinton, Cassville, Triune Halleck, Granville, Westover and Brookhaven in Monongalia County and volunteers from Winfield, Valley, Bunner’s Ridge and Cool Springs in Marion County responded and were on scene for about three hours. Crews from Mon EMS and the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department also assisted.
“We were 40 feet away and the heat was intense. I can only imagine the firefighters who were there putting out a fire and fortunately it was only 70 degrees.”