$65,000 in damage at Harborview, mostly from sprinkler system; no one injured.

By Brandi Barhite, Sandusky Register, 04/11/04
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SANDUSKY
Saturday morning's fire at a senior apartment complex caused at least $65,000 in damage to the building and its contents, but injured no one; according to Sandusky fire Capt. Brian Cowie. The fire at Harborview, 115 Franklin St., started shortly after midnight when a lit cigarette came into contact with a recliner in an eighth-floor one-bedroom apartment while the tenant was in the bathroom, Harborview board president Gene Gnidovec said Saturday evening.

The tenant tried to put the fire out with water. When he couldn't, he called 911. He also began to wake up residents, warning them of the fire. Gnidovec didn't know exactly how the cigarette ended up on the recliner. By the time the fire department arrived, most of the fire was out because of the apartment's sprinkler system.

The nine-floor complex was not evacuated, although several residents did come out of their rooms to see what was happening, Gnidovec said. Many of the estimated 114 residents put wet towels under their doors as they learned during fire drills. Some residents on the east side of the 100-room complex building slept through it, he said. The bulk of the damage was caused by water from the sprinklers, which spread from the man's apart  ment to the seven floors below him on the west side of the building, damaging the walls and ceilings.

The number of apartments damaged was not clear Saturday night. Cowie said 16 were damaged and Gnidovec said eight.

The only fire damage was in the apartment where the fire started, Gnidovec said. By Saturday evening, all but two residents were back in their apartments after RestorePro, a professional fire restoration company was called, Gnidovec said.

The man who lived in the apartment where the fire started was staying at a hotel courtesy of the American Red Cross and will return in a few days to live in a vacant room in the complex. He was treated at Firelands Regional Medical Center for anxiety and high blood pressure after the fire. The woman whose apartment is directly below the apartment where the fire started is staying with another resident in the building until she is moved to a new unit, Gnidovec said. Her unit was damaged by water.

Although Harborview allows smoking in its apartment, it is prohibited in rooms with oxygen. The man, who started the fire, is on oxygen, although it didn't cause an explosion, Gnidovec said. Cowie said pure oxygen makes fires spread more quickly, but noted the presence of oxygen was not noted in the fire report. Gnidovec said the man will not be disciplined, but the board will review the situation and enforce the rule that smoking is prohibited in rooms with oxygen. In addition to Sandusky, Huron, Margaretta and Perkins assisted with the fire.

$170,000 Project
Completed by RestorePro