Wednesday, December 20th, 2017
Kids saved from fire
By Sydney Albert
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Celina firefighter Kane Swaney on Tuesday morning pulls the screen from a second-floor window to help vent smoke from a kitchen fire at 221 S. Ash St. Firefighters rescued two small children from the fire.
CELINA - Firefighters rescued two children from an upstairs bedroom after a fire broke out around 11:37 a.m. Tuesday at 221 S. Ash St., Celina.
Upon arrival, firefighters noted heavy smoke coming from the second-story apartment. Cynthia Coate, the tenant and the children's mother, had called 911, saying she couldn't reach her two children in the bedroom due to heavy smoke and the fact she couldn't hear them, fire chief Doug Wolters said. Twelve firefighters responded and were able to go up the interior steps to retrieve the children, ages 1 and 2, from their crib.
The children received minor injuries and were transported to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater for smoke inhalation, but their injuries were non-life threatening. Wolters said this morning that they've already been released. The family declined Red Cross assistance.
Wolters said the fire appeared to be electrical in origin, heavily concentrated in a wall cavity of the children's bedroom and a portion of the attic space. The state fire marshal will not be called, but Wolters said in a news release that the investigation into the fire continues.
The damage to the rental property, owned by Jeff Link of Midwest Rental Properties, was assessed at $10,000. Wolters said the property was insured.
Celina firefighters returned to the station by 1:30 p.m.
