Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Groveton Volunteer Fire Department in Robinson suffered great losses in a fire at its station the night of June 20, but community support is making its recovery a little bit easier.
Three trucks and several boats were destroyed in the fire, but the department’s main engine escaped damage because it was out for routine maintenance when the blaze broke out.
“We’ve had dozens and dozens of fellow departments call, stop by and offer gear,” said Steve Campbell, the volunteer firefighter who drove Groveton’s main engine through an adjacent garage door before it could be damaged by the blaze.
The fire began in a utility task vehicle parked in the department’s No. 1 garage on Hayes Avenue at about 11:50 p.m. According to Mr. Campbell, the fire marshal said it began when the UTV’s battery shorted out.
Mr. Campbell, who lives across the street from the station and was one of the first to respond, began fighting the fire through a window with a garden hose. “When the whistle blew, the flames were already 15 feet high,” he said.
Mr. Campbell ran into the building adjacent to the garage where the fire began, started the engine on the main fire truck and drove it through a garage door that wouldn’t open.
Groveton firefighters were able to use the engine to pump water, and they had the flames under control before neighboring companies arrived, he said. When they got on the scene, other firefighters entered the building and got the hotspots under control to ensure the fire didn’t spread, he said.
Mr. Campbell was treated at Ohio Valley Hospital for smoke inhalation.
Although much of the garage’s interior is still charred and a burned smell lingers around the building, Groveton was declared a serviceable fire station at about noon Thursday, Mr. Campbell said.
Forest Grove, a neighboring fire department, is lending a fire engine, and the Coraopolis Volunteer Fire Department lent a pickup truck and other equipment until Groveton gets back on its feet.
A GoFundMe account has raised more than $3,000 since the fire, and Mr. Campbell hopes the money can help to cover the insurance bill.
Groveton’s four-bay garage was severely charred and most of its contents were destroyed, he said.
Among the destroyed vehicles were a special service truck, which is used to haul equipment, a 2013 Dodge pickup truck and the UTV in which the fire began. Had the company’s main fire engine not been out for routine maintenance, it likely would have been lost as well, Mr. Campbell said.
Groveton firefighters will not know the extent of the damage until they have completed inventory and the station’s insurance companies have visited, he said.
In addition to firefighting equipment, four boats and three boat motors also were destroyed. Before the fire, Groveton had the area’s largest swift-water rescue team with 18 members, but without equipment, the department cannot serve the area, Mr. Campbell said.
“We’ve got a long road to recovery,” he said.
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