CHEAT LAKE, W.Va. — The chief of the lead agency in the response to the early Tuesday morning fire in the Cheat Lake area said they quickly learned this fire was going to be major.
Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department Chief Samantha Bice said before the first unit arrived, they cautioned about the possible severity of the fire.
“After the first unit had left MECCA 911 came back and said they had received multiple calls that it was a very large fire,” Bice said Wednesday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “When I got on scene, the building was pretty involved.”
Firefighters quickly began to attack the blaze when some minor water issues had to be addressed. The quick reaction to the water problem allowed them to save a portion of the structure.
“Had a little bit of a water issue at first, but was able to get that under control pretty quickly by adding more tankers to the call,” Bice said. “We were able to keep it contained to the one building that had four apartments in it.”
The initial call at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday was for a car on fire in a garage in the 1700 block of Lakeside Drive. Bice said the vehicle owner said it was a Chevrolet Cobalt that had no problems that he was aware of.
“He told me he wasn’t having any mechanical issues that he was aware of, so not really sure what happened,” Bice said. “He was in bed and woke up to it on fire and then worked to get his pets out and notify the neighbors.”
Residents in the area and neighbors were shocked at the damage and talked to Bice at the scene about the fire and response. She encouraged property owners throughout the county to have a plan for emergencies in the home and take steps to protect their property and family.
“It’s very heartbreaking, especially if you don’t have insurance because you loose everything,” Bice said. “To stand there and see upset and devastated and upset families is very heartbreaking.”