Four young children were saved by the American flag when an apartment building burned early Friday morning in Eldred Borough.
Fourteen people were inside the building at 233 N. Main St. in Eldred Borough when the fire broke out in the middle apartment in the back around 2 a.m., and all of them got out safely, explained Chief Kevin Cummings.
“When we were dispatched, there were seven (people) on the second floor balcony,” he said. “When I arrived on scene they were lowering the kids down with an American flag.”
The victims were listed by Kane-based state police as Gordon Taylor, 48, the property owner; Frank Pierce, 45; Jeanine Jones, 45; Joshua Pierce, 20; a 13-year-old boy; a 10-year-old girl; Demetre Dixley, 22; Colleen Grimm, 29; a 6-year-old girl; an 11-year-old boy, all of Eldred; as well as Joseph Witte, 34; Amanda Witte, 31, and 6- and 9-year-old girls, all of Louisville, La.
Cummings said 13 people went to the hospital for smoke inhalation. He had no updates on the condition of anyone.
Fire department member Matt Windsor explained the flag rescue.
“It was a big flag,” he said. “It hung from the banister (of the second floor) from his porch roof.
“The resident where the fire had started was quick-thinking enough to use that flag to lower the children from the second story,” Windsor explained. The adults remained on the balcony waiting for the fire department to rescue them.
“They were trapped in that building,” he said. “There was no exit from the balcony; the stairway was engulfed. Thank God we were there.”
Police said a tenant awoke to his smoke detector going off and observed fire in his apartment.
Cummings said heavy smoke and flames were coming out of the back of the building when the fire crews arrived. They notified McKean County 911 to dispatch a second alarm, “which brought in numerous fire departments to assist on scene — Port Allegany, Smethport, Eldred Township, Otto Township, Portville (N.Y.), Coudersport’s aerial, Weston Mills (N.Y.) aerial, the town of Allegany (N.Y.) came in, West Clarksville (N.Y.) was there with tankers to assist.”
Ambulances from Eldred Borough, Priority Care, Portville, Bradford, Trans Am ALS from Olean and MA3 from Port Allegany responded as well.
When the fire was under control, state police fire marshal Trooper Russell Stewart arrived to investigate. He ruled the cause of the fire to be undetermined. However, Stewart and Cummings determined the building was unsafe, and an excavator was called in to demolish it.
The American Red Cross is assisting the families.
“During the fire we closed Main Street, Eldred, right down,” Cummings said. Traffic was detoured out West Eldred Road.”
He said in total, about 75 firefighters were on scene. The scene was cleared about 4:30 p.m.
Police said the estimated damage totals $190,000.
Both Cummings and Windsor spoke of the need local volunteer fire departments have for more volunteers. Initially Friday morning, the department had four people respond.
“We’re struggling, and something tragic is going to happen,” Windsor said. “We need help. We need volunteers.
“When the whistle blows, someone needs help,” he added. Eldred is a bedroom community, with residents working in Olean, N.Y., or Bradford. So when something happens during the day, a lot of the volunteers are out of the area at work.
It’s a problem all the local departments are feeling.
“Right now, volunteerism is fading out,” Cummings said. “It’s hard to get volunteers to dedicate the time and to come in and help out and do the work.”
