Beaver Twp. neighborhood, firefighters shaken in wake of 2 fatal fires

NORTH LIMA

For the second time in a week, one Beaver Township neighborhood is victim to a fatal fire.

Susan Puhalla, 55, died today in a house fire at the corner of East Harvard Boulevard and Laird Avenue.

Puhalla’s husband managed to escape and was treated at an area hospital.

The event rattled neighbors who lost another neighbor just days earlier.

It also was taxing for the firefighters who responded, many of whom had responded to a fire at the Canfield Industrial Park in Green Township early Wednesday.

Green Township Fire Chief Todd Baird described the situation as “tough,” but said that firefighters “stick together.”

Green, Damascus, Perry, Beaver, Canfield, Springfield, Columbiana and Ellsworth firefighters responded to the industrial park fire, the call for which came in shortly before 3 a.m.

Fighting the industrial fire required firefighters to go out and fill tankers with water since there were no fire hydrants nearby.

Adding to the firefighters’ burden was that the Beaver Township volunteer firefighters who responded to the fatal fire Wednesday also responded to a fatal fire on Forest Avenue late last Thursday night. Fire Chief Larry Sauerwein said he likely will organize a stress debriefing for his firefighters, all of whom are volunteers.

Read more about the fires in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.