Fires strike Oberlin throughout the year

Four fires ripped through Oberlin homes this year resulting in the tragic loss of two residents. The first fire ravaged a student home in October, then within the span of two weeks in February and March three more houses burned.

A deadly arson at 21 Morgan St. claimed the lives of two Oberlin residents early on Feburary 28.

According to Fire Chief Dennis Kirin, laboratory tests conclusively eliminated all accidental causes.

Twelve-year-old Angelique Hamiltion lost her life while attempting to save her grandmother, Irene Springer, from the fire. Although she was unable to rouse her sleeping grandmother, Angie's efforts did save two uncles.

Angie was spending the weekend with Springer, 70. Shortly after 2:30 a.m., Angie smelled smoke in the small house and alerted her uncles, Lawrence and Roy Springer, to the deadly situation. She then ran upstairs to wake her grandmother.

At 2:39 a.m., the Oberlin Fire Department received a call from a passer-by reporting the fire. They were able to respond quickly, according to Kirin, but found the house fully engulfed in flames upon their arrival.

Roy Springer, who had escaped the house with minor injuries, told the firefighters that three people remained inside. The firefighters were able to remove Lawrence Springer from the first floor of the house before fighting their way upstairs to Irene Springer and Angie.

Irene Springer and Angie were carried out of the house, and all four victims were transported to Allen Memorial Hospital.

Irene Springer and Angie were pronounced Dead On Arrival. According to Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus, the two died from asphyxiation caused by smoke inhalation.

Neighbor Elizabeth Patterson awoke to find the Springer house in flames, and went outside to watch the rescue efforts of the firefighters. "I didn't want to watch, but I couldn't not watch it," she said.

Ken Sloane, another Morgan Street resident, remembers Irene Springer as a quiet woman who was close to her family. Sloane said Angie, a fifth-grader at Prospect Elementary School in Oberlin, was outgoing and friendly with the people in the neighborhood. "It's a tragic situation," Sloane said. "Angie was loved by everyone."

Irene Springer and Angie Hamilton were buried in Camden Cemetery.

Student homes burn

42 North Park St.

A fire spread through the downstairs of 42 North Park, a student apartment, at around 7:30 a.m. March 6, charring furniture and walls.

Oberlin firefighters managed to kill the blaze in under 10 minutes.

The cause of the fire, which began in the living room, remains under investigation. Kirin said there is no reason to believe the fire began under suspicious circumstances.

The four students asleep on the first floor escaped unharmed. Three of the students were checked for smoke inhalation at Allen Memorial Hospital and were released.

One of the students who awoke to the flames was an overnight guest.

According to Kirin, the one smoke detector in the downstairs did not operate. He said the students became aware of the fire when one of them got up for the morning, opened her door and saw smoke. She and her friend broke the window and escaped through the front, another student broke through a different window, and the other student ran through the living room and out the back door, according to Kirin.

"One more time we're lucky that through some quirk of fate some students got out of the house," Kirin said. He said he has not yet checked the smoke detector to determine if the batteries were dead or had been removed.

Oberlin Resident Gary Randall, who, with his partner Margaret Baker, owns 42 North Park and a few other Oberlin houses, said their houses are inspected every fall. "[The smoke detector] was working when we left the house. I would think the tenants would check it," Randall said.

Baker said that according to the students in the house, they did not hear the alarm but it very well might have gone off. She added that she has the papers showing that the house was inspected.

65 Groveland St.

March 14 brought another fire to Oberlin, this time in an unlicensed rooming house.

Although the residents of 65 Groveland escaped without injury, the early morning fire claimed most of the second floor. The back bedroom crashed into the garage below, crushing two cars.

The damage was estimated at $60,000 at the time of the fire. According to City Fire Chief Dennis Kirin, the owner of the home decided to cut his losses and level the remains of the home.

Brian Taylor lived in the back bedroom where the fire started.

"My bed being on fire woke me up," Taylor said. According to residents, the smoke detectors did not sound.

Taylor attempted to fight the fire, but his efforts only aggravated the flames. Taylor alerted his five housemates and three guests. They escaped in time to watch much of their home go up in smoke.

"It was a pretty good sized fire," Kirin said. "We do suspect the possibility of an electrical cause."

Fire fighters were able to subdue the flames in 45 minutes. Neighbors brought blankets to the displaced residents watching from the sidewalk.

The fire was the third serious fire in Oberlin since the beginning of the year. Kirin said, "Do we have fires in rooming houses? Yes we do."

126 E. Lorain St.

The home of three College students burned in October from an unknown origin. Junior Erin Savage and seniors Amy Kremen and Katherine Kiger were out of their apartment at 12:30 p.m. when the first call went in to the fire department reporting smoke in their residence at 126 E. Lorain St.

According to the Oberlin Fire Department, firefighters arrived on the scene and found a heavy volume of smoke coming from the first floor at the front of the house. The firefighters searched the house for residents and found nobody at home. The fire was declared under control at 1:35 p.m.

The house sustained heavy fire and heat damage to the first and second floor apartments according to Fire Chief Dennis Kirin. Kirin said there were 20 firefighters from Oberlin and the Wllington Fire District and Carlisle Township Fire Department provided assistance throughout the day.

A family of three resided on the first floor where the fire is thought to have originated. Toni Walker, a member of the family, was the first to report smoke coming from the second floor window. Walker, her husband and daughter then fled the house.

Savage said she thought it was very sad that the Walker family had lost so much.

"I lost everything I owned. That sounds too self pitying. It's really upsetting to go back up there. Really upsetting. I keep remembering things to look for," Savage said.

After the fire, the College is monetarily supporting the students temporarily.