Jerome Avenue Warehouse Too Badly Damaged to Determine Cause of Fire

By ANNE HOLLIDAY
WESB/WBRR News Director

A warehouse was destroyed and an apartment house was damaged, but no one was hurt in a fire this afternoon on Jerome Avenue.

Captain Chris Angell tells WESB and The HERO the warehouse was heavily involved in fire and smoke when Bradford City firefighters arrived on the scene. They got the call at 11:39 a.m. and were on the scene for five hours.

The warehouse has been declared a total loss. The warehouse was connected to a rental unit with three apartments. Angell said there was “some fire extension into two apartments, but not a lot – a little fire extension, smoke and water damage. But they did not burn up.”

“What didn’t get wet was saved,” Angell said.

“A little bit of vinyl siding melted (at 19 Jerome Ave.) but the fire did not extend to the house,” Angell said.

State Police Fire Marshal Greg Agosti has already been on the scene and has not determined a cause. Angell says the cause will be left undetermined because the warehouse is too hazardous to investigate. Damage is estimated at $200,000.

The owner of 17 Jerome Ave. is Ken Tully of Bradford. Residents of the apartment house are Dave Knapp; Kyle Hetrick and Jennifer Ryan; and Tesia Moore and her one-year-old son.

The Red Cross is assisting the families.

Sixteen city firefighters were on the scene. Derrick City and Bradford Township firemen were also called to the fire. The city’s Tower 1, Engine 1, Engine 2 and all EMS units were on the scene.

City police and Special Police helped direct traffic.

While firefighters were at the fire scene, they also received 4 EMS calls, and answered all of those as well.

When asked if there’s always a fire around the time of Thanksgiving, Angell said firefighters had just been talking about that and said “It seems like it.”