Akron councilman seeks answers about fire that forced him out of South Akron home
Ward 5 City Councilman Johnnie Hannah awoke to a fire early Monday morning that heavily damaged his South Akron residence. He escaped unhurt, but won't be able to return any time soon to the home he's lived in for 25 years.
The Akron Fire Department said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hannah said an investigator took samples from the ground at the back corner of the house where the fire began — noting to him that structure fires typically happen from the top down, not the bottom up.
Hannah said he spoke again Wednesday with the investigator, who said the sample will be sent for testing at the State Fire Marshal's lab in Columbus.
He's got a security camera mounted to the house, just above the spot the fire began. However, he's been unable to access the footage stored online since the fire. The fire department cut power to the house when it arrived, killing his internet access.
"But when I did look on the camera before they knocked off the internet," Hannah said, "I didn't see anything."
'The whole room was engulfed in smoke'
Hannah said he woke up at about 4:15 a.m. Monday to the sound of what he thought was rain. When he looked out the window, however, he saw flames.
He called 911, grabbed some clothes and made for the door.
"When I looked back, the whole room was engulfed in smoke," Hannah said.
The fire department arrived in about three minutes, he said. It took about 30 to 45 minutes for them to extinguish the fire, which had spread to the attic.
On Thursday, Hannah led a reporter and photographer through his East South Street home, which he bought while he was still a bus operator for Metro RTA. The plaster had fallen from the ceiling in the living room and bedroom. The walls near the windows and in the hallways and stairwell were streaked in soot. The house smelled like a bonfire.
His hope is that his insurance will cover the more than $100,000 in damages estimated by his claim adjuster, but Hannah said he might have to take out a loan to cover all the work that needs to be done.
Unfortunately, he'll be forced out of his home for six to eight months until the house is repaired. He has secured temporary living arrangements while he awaits the repairs.
A woman from the neighborhood checked on him while the fire department was still there, someone whom he gave his card to years ago. His friends have offered their help to him, and so have his fellow council members.
The gravity of the situation is setting in, he said.
"It's just now hit me, like, today, this morning," Hannah said Thursday. "I didn't sleep at all, because I started thinking about things, thinking about, you know, it could have been bad for me, and I couldn't have gotten out of there."
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fire drives Akron Councilman Johnnie Hannah out of South Akron home
