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Niles fire chief says deadly Monday fire ranks ‘right up there’ among worst in his career
By Ed Runyan
NILES
Bradley M. Crist, 54, and one of his sons, Jacob Crist, 15, died in Monday morning’s fire on Scott Avenue, while his wife, Diane L. Crist, 44, and another son, Jesse Crist, 17, suffered injuries and are in separate hospitals.
One veteran Niles firefighter also was admitted at St. Joseph Warren Hospital with an elevated heart rate and remained in the hospital Tuesday morning.
Niles firefighters pulled all four family members from the home, finding Bradley on the living-room floor near the front door, then finding Jacob in a back, upstairs bedroom.
Firefighters used a thermal imager, which enables firefighters to find a person in the dark, to find Jacob.
But just after they removed him, the room “flashed” into fire, preventing firefighters from taking the imager with them, and the imager was destroyed in the fire.
Another group of firefighters entered a second-floor front bedroom, finding Diane and Jesse. They took them to safety off of the front porch roof, Fire Chief Dave Danielson said.
Both survivors were taken to hospitals by helicopter, with Diane being taken to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh and Jesse being taken to National Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Danielson said both suffered smoke inhalation and heat injuries.
Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz, who knew the family well and taught Jacob in school, called the episode a “very tragic loss for the community.”
The Trumbull County Coroner’s Office said autopsies were performed on the two deceased Crist family members, but results were not available Tuesday afternoon.
The six-man second-turn firefighting unit was called out to assist the nine-man crew on duty at the time, Danielson said. The second turn helped put out the remainder of the fire and overhaul the home. Their shift was supposed to start at 7 a.m. Monday.
Danielson said the fire was “right up there” among the most serious fires he’s been involved with in his 35 years with the Niles Fire Department because of the number of people pulled from the building.
“They did a hell of a job to get where they got in such a short time,” Danielson said of his firefighters. “You can’t praise these guys enough.”
The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s office said Tuesday it is investigating the cause of the fire and had no information to release. One of three family dogs survived the fire.