TRUMBULL COUNTY Duplex blaze kills 1, hurts 4

A woman was hanging out of a window when firefighters arrived.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A man was killed and four people suffered smoke inhalation in an early-morning blaze at a duplex near downtown.
The family identified the man who died as Randy Solida, 51, who lived in a second-floor apartment at 341 W. Park Ave.
Fire Lt. George Sprague said Solida's girlfriend, Carla Stevenson, 41, was in critical condition this morning in Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
Two others who lived in the other second-floor apartment adjacent to Solida's residence were released after treatment at the Warren hospital. They were identified as Cory Shura, 27, and Crystal Carr, 29.
Sprague said the cause of the fire has not been determined, and the state fire marshal's office is investigating.
The Trumbull County coroner's office said Solida suffered severe burns, but it hasn't been determined if he died of the burns or smoke inhalation.
Here's the scene
Solida was sleeping on the couch in his living room and Stevenson was sleeping in a back bedroom, the lieutenant said.
A neighbor spotted the flames and called the fire department about 2:15 a.m.
Solida appeared to have attempted to extinguish the flames, Sprague said. Stevenson fled to the apartment across the hall.
When firefighters arrived, Stevenson was hanging out the front window and firefighters rescued her, and two other people got out on their own, Sprague said.
"There was a lot of smoke," Sprague noted.
"She didn't want to leave, but we made her go to the hospital," Sprague said of Stevenson.
Barry Patrick, 41, a neighbor, said he heard noise, looked out a window of his home and saw the glow of the flames across the street. When he went outside, he saw a man on the roof of the burning building, yelling that there was somebody inside.
Patrick said he and another neighbor kicked in the front door of the duplex and attempted to crawl to the second floor. They were forced to retreat because of the thick smoke.
Patrick also was treated at Trumbull Memorial for smoke inhalation.
Sprague said the flames caused an estimated $50,000 damage. The fire was confined to Solida's apartment, although the two-story frame structure sustained smoke damage throughout. Stevenson's pet cat was killed in the fire.
The building is owned by Solida's sister-in-law, Patty Solida.
yovich@vindy.com