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Family of six killed in fire views Warren house razing
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Workers from Holton inc. including Shane Holton and Duane Richmond work on demolishing the house on 911 Landsdowne Ave in Warren Friday morning.
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Workers from Holton Inc. of Lordstown demolish the house at 911 Landsdowne Ave. NW, Warren, the scene of the city’s deadliest fire. three months ago. The work took place Friday.
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Three months after her son and three of her grandchildren died in a house fire on Landsdowne Avenue Northwest, Linda Dorsey returned to the street for the first time Thursday to view the remains of the burned structure.
On Friday morning, a demolition crew donating its time removed the house.
“I knew it couldn’t be rebuilt, but it’s just hard to see it come down,” Linda Dorsey said as the demolition began.
“Knowing that Derek put all that money into it, and he was in there with my three grandkids.”
Linda Dorsey said the demolition might bring “a little closure, but they [the six who died] will never be forgotten.”
Linda Dorsey is the mother of Derek Dorsey, 30, who died along with Audrey Johnson, 30, and their two children, Derek Jr., 11, and Ariell, 9. Also killed were Derek Sr.’s niece, Miracle Hugley, 9; and Audrey’s niece, Ja’Niece Hicks, 13, of Columbus.
Warren firefighters say it was the city’s deadliest fire on record.
Investigators say a patio charcoal grill too close to the back of the house started the fire, which was reported at 4:43 a.m. by a neighbor. None of the six people in the house escaped; all were overcome by smoke. The house contained no smoke detectors.
Edward Benard, Derek Dorsey’s father and owner of the house, said complications with the insurance company prevented the demolition from occurring sooner.
Benard said he was grateful when Chris Taneyhill, building official, informed him that Taneyhill had found several local companies willing to undertake demolition and landscaping at no cost.
Holton Inc. of Lordstown agreed to handle the demolition. Lafarge of Lordstown agreed to accept the demolition debris from the site.
The city provided roll-off containers to accept items not accepted at a demolition-debris landfill; Environmental Transfer Systems of Warren accepted the items from the roll-off containers; Adgate Landscaping of Warren agreed to plant six trees at the site; and Marty Schimley agreed to provide fill dirt and topsoil.
The trees are symbolic of the six people who died, Taneyhill said.
The demolition cost to the Dorseys with the donations would have been $3,000 to $4,000.
“You don’t know how glad I am to see this torn down, not only for me but for the neighbors. It’s such a big eyesore, and now maybe we can have some peace here,” Benard said.
He’s grateful to the companies that provided the free services and to Taneyhill for organizing the effort, Benard said.
He hopes the landscaping and planting being done will end there, Benard said, adding that he wants the site to become a park and memorial, with additional shrubbery, benches, a marker explaining what occurred on that site.
Roxanna Holton, an owner of the Holton Inc., said she was aware of the tragedy that had occurred in the house and was happy to do something to help.
“We just felt it was a burden on the family already,” she said. “I can only imagine the hardship.”