Genoa wrestling coach, family escape burning home
CLAY TOWNSHIP — Genoa wrestling coach Bob Bergman and his family, including three children, escaped safely from their home earlier this week after a fire began in their chimney and quickly spread to the roof.
The family was put in contact with the local American Red Cross, and the Genoa Wrestling Program planned a donation drive and bake sale fundraiser from 1 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the middle school, 2950 N. Genoa Clay Center Road, to benefit the Bergman family.
According Allen-Clay Joint Fire District Chief Mike Musolf, firefighters were dispatched to the home on Manor Drive in Clay Township shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Monday.
Upon the firefighters' arrival, the blaze had spread from the chimney to throughout the roof. Firefighters initially began attacking the blaze from the interior of the home, but were forced back and proceeded to spray down water from a tower ladder.
After containing the fire primarily to the attic, which had sustained significant damage, crews were later able to reenter the home and put out the remaining hotspots.
No firefighters were hurt while battling the blaze.
Musolf praised the Bergman family for maintaining smoke detectors in the home, which were working as intended when firefighters arrived and the family had already made it out.
Musolf offered a few fire safety reminders to all homeowners, including checking smoke detectors monthly, changing their batteries twice a year, cleaning chimneys and closing doors between bedrooms at night to slow the spread of smoke in case of a fire.
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This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: No one hurt as family escapes house fire in Genoa
