RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Firefighters extinguished on Tuesday (Oct. 22) afternoon a fire that was determined to have been intentionally started in a restroom at Richmond Heights Elementary School.
There were no injuries and no damage was found.
RHFD Chief Marc Neumann said firefighters responded at 2:07 p.m. Tuesday to an alarm at the school, 447 Richmond Road.
“Then we got a 911 call about three minutes later, at 2:10 p.m.,” he said. “And the caller reported that fire was in the cafeteria with black smoke coming out of the back of the building.
“When we arrived on the scene, we confirmed there was smoke coming out of the building and, meanwhile, the evacuation had already occurred,” he said. “It was quickly determined that the fire’s origin was a boys bathroom adjacent to the cafeteria, and it was in a waste container.
“It was very quickly extinguished and we moved the smoke out of there. Nobody was injured and there was no damage to the property, but we do take away from it, clearly, that it was intentionally set by somebody.”
Despite the serious nature of an intentionally set fire, Neumann said a positive was that the constant fire drills that take place at the school proved effective.
“The exit planning, the egress planning, that worked perfectly. All 388 students were accounted for, and the 45 staff members were all identified and accounted for,” Neumann said. “So the evacuation went very, very well.
“That was a good thing in a bad situation. Also (good was) that the alarm system worked as designed, and that we received an alarm from the alarm company that identified where the alarm was at.
“It was a very unfortunate event in that it was intentionally set, but very, very good in that all the systems were in place, nobody was injured, and there was no damage to property.
“Now our local fire investigation unit, along with law enforcement, is looking into that other factor where it was intentionally set.”
Six firefighters/paramedics sworn in
Mayor Kim Thomas ceremonially swore in six new firefighters/paramedics prior to Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Neumann said the men had previously been sworn in and had begun working with the RHFD from April to June.
The additions, he said, mean that the fire department is now fully staffed with 21 firefighters.
“Over the past year,” Neumann told council members, “many of our incumbent members retired or moved on in their fire service careers. These six new firefighters represent roughly 30 percent of our team.
“The logistics of hiring one-third of our workforce was a challenging process.”
In recent years, finding firefighters and police recruits has been difficult for all area departments.
Neumann noted that firefighters not only put themselves in harm’s way when responding to fires, but as paramedics are important to helping people with medical emergencies.
“When someone is having the worst day of their life, these are the caregivers they call to make it better,” Neumann said.
Sworn in were Grant Egensperger, Tyler Hill, Liam Kessler, Dustin Knerr, David Stern and Joseph Tomcany.
Before being sworn in, Neumann said to the men, “The oath of office is not to be taken lightly. Today you will give your life to the citizens of Richmond Heights.
“Our organization will provide the best training, equipment and protective gear to keep you safe and ready. It is our responsibility to ensure that you don’t lose your life in the performance of your duty. Everyone goes home.”
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