By David Owens
The Hartford Courant
CANTON, Ohio — A Canton police officer pounding on the front door alerted an elderly couple to a fire in the attic of their home early Sunday.
A passerby on Route 44 spotted the flames about 3:20 a.m. and called police while sounding the horn on his car to alert those in the home. Canton police Officer Chris Lundberg was nearby and was the first emergency responder to reach the home at 285 Albany Turnpike.
“The occupants answered [Lundberg’s pounding] and that was the first they became aware of the fire,” Canton Police Chief Lowell Humphrey said Sunday. They were asleep on the first floor.
As Lundberg was escorting Raymond P. Bussolini, 80, and Shirley B. Bussolini, 72, from their home, Humphrey arrived. “We moved them into my car,’' Humphrey said.
Firefighters responded quickly “and made quick work” of the fire, Humphrey said.
When firefighters arrived, “there were flames rolling through the roof,” Assistant Fire Chief Heath Doran said.
Flames were leaping 20 feet into the air through the center of the roof, added Deputy Fire Chief Mike Krupa. After considering for a moment whether firefighters could be sent into the house, Krupa dispatched Lt. Matt Majher and Firefighters Bill Volovski and Mike Kadas.
“We sent the guys in, up to the second floor,” Krupa said. “They found the seat of the fire, made a good aggressive attack on that and were able to extinguish the bulk of the fire.”
Krupa said there were no smoke detectors in the home. “The folks there had no clue” about the fire, Doran said. “Luckily, they were in a bedroom on the first floor.
“This house is not a total loss, which is another good thing,” he said.
The home was not habitable after the fire, and Humphrey said he was told the Bussolinis were staying with relatives.
Doran said the town fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze. About 45 firefighters from Canton and Avon answered the call.
Copyright 2007 Harford Courant