Garage fire in Massillon kills cat, Stark Glass Block fire shuts down 12th Street NW
With their garage on fire, Sandy Baker, her husband Ron Baker, her son Bill McHenry and his wife were able to escape the black smoke rolling into the Bakers' duplex unit in western Massillon Thursday afternoon.
But tragically, Sandy Baker lost her 17-year-old cat Oliver, who had been her cat his entire life.
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After getting the fire under control around 5 p.m., firefighters found Oliver deceased in the unit at 4573 Evangel Ave. NW after the fire was reported around 4:40 p.m. He apparently died from smoke inhalation. They brought his body to Sandy Baker, who held him in a blanket in her arms as she sat in her wheelchair in a neighbor's yard. She sobbed as she reminisced about her beloved pet.
"He's the best cat," she said tearfully. "My baby. Always sitting on my lap."
Her 2-year-old female cat was found alive. But the fire destroyed the two vehicles in the Bakers' garage.
The fire in a neighborhood near Lincoln Way West took place a few days after Sandy Baker lost her brother Donald Morris, who died Monday at the age of 83 after an illness. The calling hours are scheduled today, and the funeral is Saturday.
Explosion
"We heard this boom," said Sandy Baker. "And Billy (McHenry, her son) ran and grabbed the door to the garage. That black smoke was just rolling in. ... He screamed at me to get out."
Despite being in a wheelchair, she and the three other people in the unit were able to exit through the front door. Their neighbors in the attached duplex unit, described by Massillon Fire Chief Matt Heck as a mother and three children also were able to escape unharmed.
A firefighter told the Bakers that the floor of their home with yellow siding was covered in insulation and that they had not been able to find Sandy Baker's purse.
"I have a checkbook on the table," Ron Baker told him. "If you can get that. What a nightmare!"
Firefighters later brought the Bakers' medications in cardboard boxes that they found in the home as they looked for hotspots in the walls.
Chief Heck said much of the damage took place in the Bakers' garage with smoke damage throughout the building. Heck said the occupants would have to find temporary housing elsewhere. A man wearing clothing that indicated he was a representative of the Red Cross was providing assistance.
The chief said fire investigators would try to determine the cause of the fire.
Heck said the fire departments of Erie Valley, North Lawrence, Canal Fulton and Perry Township provided firefighters and trucks through mutual aid.
Warehouse fire
More than 20 minutes after the fire broke out in the Bakers' garage, someone called 911 and reported sometime after 5 p.m. that they could see heavy smoke at the warehouse and another building of Stark Glass Block at 4018 12th Street NW, east of Whipple Avenue NW in Canton Township.
Fire trucks with flashing lights blocked off the stretch of 12th Street by the business, forcing a large number of vehicles to detour.
Canton Township Fire Chief Chris Smith said firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke. The blaze damaged much of the warehouse and company offices by the warehouse area. The employees had all left for the day minutes before the fire was reported. No one was in the building when the fire broke out. No one was hurt.
Smith said firefighters had the fire under control by around 6 p.m.
He said the township's fire investigator will try to determine the cause.
Smith's department responded to fires at Stark Glass Block on 12th Street NW in October 2020 and in April.
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The fire departments of Plain Township, Canton, Jackson Township and Osnaburg Township provided trucks and firefighters
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Firefighters battle fires in Massillon and Canton Township Thursday
