Electric problem blamed in fire

BRACEVILLE — An electrical malfunction on a firetruck in the Braceville Township Volunteer Fire Station is blamed for starting a blaze that devastated the firehouse and damaged all the vehicles inside.

Matt Balut, a member of the Trumbull County Fire Investigation Unit, said an electrical engineer hired by the township’s insurance carrier determined that an early 1990s model firetruck was the source of the Sept. 29 fire.

Balut said the truck’s battery was connected to a charger, as were several other items on the truck: hand lights and portable radios. Any of those items could have experienced an electrical surge or a short that could have started the blaze, he said.

The truck had last been started and moved from its parking place the Wednesday before the Saturday morning fire, Balut said.

Don Maffitt, Braceville fire chief, said he was fairly sure early on that the truck had caused the fire and that foul play was not involved. He is relieved to be able to tell people the cause, he said.

Maffitt said area departments are continuing to provide fire and ambulance service for the department, but he is hoping to have the department’s own firetruck and ambulance in service by next week.

The department’s 22 volunteers are being fitted to for new firefighting clothing, and additional suits have been donated.

No one was injured in the fire. The building was unoccupied at the time it started.

Maffitt said a damage estimate has not been set.