Two Warren firefighters suffer minor injuries in Vine Street fire

Staff report

WARREN

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries fighting a blaze at a vacant house at 668 Vine St. NE at 2:19 a.m. Sunday that caused $30,000 in damage.

One firefighter suffered a facial cut, and another injured a knee when he fell partially through a hole on the floor. Neither firefighter required treatment at the hospital.

Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle said the fire is suspicious because the home’s utilities were off and there were two unexplained holes in the floor. The home is owned by Richard Mollard.

Crews also extinguished a fire at a large home at 128 Ford St. NW. The owner, Ryan Simones, escaped uninjured.

The fire started in the living room, causing moderate damage on the first floor. The loss is $15,000 to the house and $3,000 to its contents. The cause is under investigation.

The home had two fire alarms, but neither was functional, Nussle said.

The two fires mark the fourth and fifth in the city in the past seven days, several of which may have been intentionally set, Nussle said.

The department laid off five firefighters last week as a result of the expiration of a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response — SAFER — grant that paid the salary and benefits of dozens of firefighters for several years.

The department has been closing one of its three fire stations periodically even before the layoffs, Nussle said. The Atlantic Street Northeast station is the one that is closed when staffing levels are too low to keep all three open, the chief added.