Two Pa. Firefighters Hurt as Fire Station Burns

June 22--The Groveton Volunteer Fire Department in Robinson lost almost everything late Saturday when an all-terrain vehicle parked inside caught fire, but one firefighter's daring rescue helped save most of the structure.

Chief Ken Kisow said cameras caught the UTV, a six-wheeled off-road truck used for swift-water rescue operations, as it started smoking and caught fire about 11:50 p.m. Saturday.

Steve Campbell, a 30-year veteran of the department, lives nearby and saw the fire. Kisow said Campbell shimmied under a garage door that would only open about 3 feet to start one of the fire engines, then drove it out through the jammed door so other firefighters could use it to start saving their own station.

"It took me four tries to get it to start because of all the smoke," said Campbell, 51. He tried to fight the flames with a garden hose before realizing they needed the truck, then battled intense heat and smoke in just shorts, slippers and a cut-off shirt.

"I screamed at the top of my lungs, 'Look out, here I come,' and I just floored it through the door," he said. "I pulled the emergency brake and literally just fell out to the ground because I couldn't breathe."

Campbell and two other firefighters then sprayed the blaze through the heat-warped windows of the garage doors, unable to go inside without any of their gear. They battled the blaze until other fire companies arrived about seven minutes later, he said.

Campbell was one of two firefighters treated for smoke inhalation and released; Kisow said he had to cajole Campbell into an ambulance because he couldn't stand the idea of other fire companies fighting to save his station.

In addition to the UTV, the fire destroyed three inflatable boats used by the swift-water rescue teams, 20 sets of water rescue gear, a special-services truck, a squad truck the department had just finished paying off and about six sets of firefighting gear, Kisow said.

One tanker truck had been out of the station for service, and the rest of the firefighters' gear was in one bay that had only smoke damage, he said. The engine Campbell rescued suffered some fire damage and damage to its lights and windshield tearing through the jammed garage door, but it worked well enough to fight the fire until other companies arrived.

A disaster-recovery contractor should be able to have one of the station's five bays reopened by Wednesday, when the tanker truck can be put back into service; the rest of the station could be repaired with new drywall, doors and paint.

"The trusses are good, the block's good, and the roof is intact," Kisow said. He estimated the loss of equipment at between $700,000 and $800,000 but said insurance adjusters won't be able to visit the site until Allegheny County fire marshals finish investigating what caused the UTV to ignite.

"The UTV was just sitting there. It was crazy," Kisow said. "We last used it last Tuesday. ... It wasn't plugged in, it just started smoking."

Kisow said Groveton's "sister companies" in Robinson -- the Forest Grove and Moon Run stations -- along with Coraopolis firefighters would cover fire calls in his station's area until everything is restored. Others offered equipment, and a member's family started an online GoFundMe drive for the station.

"The support from other fire departments has been overwhelming. I can't stop answering my phone and emails from everybody in the county," Kisow said.

Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412 380 5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.

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