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One person killed in Beaver Township fire
NORTH LIMA
The Mahoning County Coroner’s office is working to identify the victim of a house fire that killed one person and a dog Thursday night.
Although the deceased has not been officially identified, a neighbor of the Forest Avenue victim said she was close to the person who lived there.
Krystyna Reider, 21, recalled how she used to stop at the victim’s house for a snack or to talk.
“She helped raise me when I was little. She was kind of like a second mom,” said Reider, who lives across the street from the home that was halfway engulfed in flames when responders got there about 11 p.m. Thursday.
Reider said she was asleep when her mother ran into her room to tell her about the fire.
“I ran out there and saw it in progress. There was nothing you could do but stand there,” she said.
By that time, Beaver Township and Springfield firefighters had arrived.
“I was first on scene from the fire department. The flames were through the roof,” said Beaver Township Fire Chief Larry Sauerwein. “Approximately half the house was involved.”
Firefighters were there until about 4 a.m. Friday, Sauerwein said.
The state fire marshal’s office is working to determine how the fire started. The coroner’s office reported it likely would take some time to identify the victim because investigators will have to use dental records.
The area was quiet late Friday afternoon, save for some curious passers-by. The charred remains of the house were roped off with crime-scene tape. At the end of the driveway, someone had left a bouquet of pink, purple and white flowers.