 |
|
|
|
 |
| 4/10/2005 1:29:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
|
| The home of John and Nez Artisensi at 225 East Boundary Street suffered major damage in the fire which also damaged the Wognum home next door. |
|
Fire engulfs Ely home
by Nick Wognum
General Manager
“All I can think about is I want to go home. But I can’t.”
That was John Artisensi’s comment as he watched firefighters battle a blaze at his home at 225 East Boundary Street Thursday morning.
Artisensi had left his house shortly after 9 a.m., stopping in the garage before leaving to do some errands. His wife, Nez, had already left for a trip to Virginia to visit relatives.
Each would return to find their home devastated by fire.
The fire was reported to 911 around 9:40 a.m. by neighbor Mary Wognum who smelled smoke and saw flames coming from the garage. She could hear the fire crackling next door from inside her house.
Neighbors tried to get in the house to see if anyone was home but the front door was locked.
Police officer John Saw arrived shortly after the fire whistle blew and determined no one was in the Artisensi home.
The flames from Artisensi’s garage jumped across the yard, igniting the vinyl siding on the Wognum house and burning the side of a barrel sauna and a vehicle parked between the two homes.
As city of Ely fire trucks rolled in the flames rolled quickly through a breezeway that connected Artisensi’s garage with their home.
Once the fire found its way inside the house, it quickly reached the roof and black smoke belched into the sky so thick and so high into the sky it could be seen in Winton.
Firefighters dropped hose to a hydrant on Third Avenue between Boundary and James streets while others began spraying water on the fire on both structures.
The nozzle on top of the main pumper truck was assembled and aimed at the structure fire but there wasn’t enough pressure from the hydrant. To help keep the hoses flowing, two water tenders were used to bring water to the Hummer.
Neighbors and others gathered on the other side of the street, watching as flames erupted out of the back of the garage and rolled up into a large pine tree.
Small explosions could be heard in the garage as firefighters donned air packs and headed into the house to fight the rapidly advancing fire.
Using a saw to cut into walls, the fire was later sprayed with foam and brought under control by noon. The outside of the house stood with burn marks around most windows and the backside of the house blackened and severely burned.
Firefighters returned to the scene a little while later when some insulation started to smolder but by the time evening fell, the windows on the Artisensi house were boarded up.
The cause of the fire is unknown, according to Ely Fire Chief Louis Gerzin but is believed to have started in the garage.
The Artisensi house and garage were declared a total loss by Gerzin who said that some personal effects in the basement were only damaged by water.
A 1965 Corvair and 1996 Chevy S-10 pickup were burned in the garage.
The Wognum home suffered surface damage on the west wall and some water and smoke damage.
|
Article Comment Submission Form
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Search Sponsored
|
