The fast response time and tireless efforts of several volunteer fire departments in southern Chautauqua County made the difference for one town of Carroll family Friday, as their garage caught on fire.
Around 11:08 a.m., a 911 call reported a fire in a garage attached to a home located at 584 Frew Run Road, which is between Wiltsie and Wheeler Run roads.
Volunteer firefighters from Frewsburg, Kennedy, Kiantone, Busti, Lakewood and Russell, Pa., showed up to try to save the house attached to the burning garage.
"It was complicated because we couldn't get the garage door open," said Frewsburg Fire Chief Keith Babcock. "It was an automatic door and the smoke was so thick inside, we couldn't get it open until after the fire was out."
Crews attacked the blaze from an exterior door on the rear of the garage, while other firefighters kept water on the hallway connecting it to the home.
Since the rural home has a well for its water source, crews set up two 2,100 water retention pools at the end of the driveway.
The water was pumped several hundred feet up the inclined driveway to the northeastern part of the home where the garage was located, and sprayed onto the structure.
The scene was tense, with firefighters running oxygen tanks to those fighting the fire while commanders organized the attacks and dealt with challenges as they presented themselves. A strong northwestern wind threatened
Firefighters scaled the home to the roof where a chainsaw was used to vent the dense smoke from the garage and adjacent hallway. In rotating shifts, firefighters kept putting water on the interior of the garage until, after an hour, the fire was put out.
A man who lives at the home was taken to WCA Hospital by volunteer EMTs from Frewsburg for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported.
In addition to the several fire departments assisting with the fire, the Carroll Police Department and the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department also had a presence at the scene.
The Chautauqua County Fire Investigation Team was called in around noon to look for the cause of the blaze, and Babcock said the home sustained only smoke damage as the flames were confined to the garage area.
