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Owner rescues dog. Fire department investigating cause of explosion in garage
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
NORTON: The cause of a garage explosion Tuesday that set a bungalow on Clubside Drive on fire is under investigation by the Norton Fire Department.
Norton Fire Chief Mike Schultz said the house, owned by Jackie Flechler, was destroyed.
The fire call came in at 12:41 p.m., Schultz said, and units from Copley, Barberton, Chippewa and Wadsworth teamed with Norton firefighters to battle the blaze for nearly two hours.
''It is devastating, but I just thank God nobody was hurt,'' said Flechler, who has lived in the bungalow for 19 years.
A secretary in the Norton High School athletic department, Flechler was working at the school at the time of the explosion. Two children — daughter Sloane, 13, and son Spencer, 17 — also weren't at home.
Two other children are grown and no longer live in the
house.
''I was working and I got a frantic call from my niece [Kim Whitt] 12:30ish,'' Flechler said.''She said she had called 911, so I raced home.
''When I got there, the neighbors told me that they hadn't found our dog [a cockapoo named Jackson] in the house.
''I got yelled at by the firemen, but I went in and got Jackson. I knew exactly where Jackson would be. . . . The back side of the house was still cool, so I figured it was safe.''
Flechler's sister, Bettie Chapman of Wadsworth, said her daughter, Whitt, lives two doors down on Clubside and heard multiple explosions.
''It was four-wheelers exploding in the garage and windows popping in the house,'' Chapman said. ''Kim ran outside to see what was happening and was shocked to see her aunt's house on fire. The explosion started the fire, and then it spread into the house.''
Flechler said there were ''three or four'' four-wheelers in the garage along with clothing and Christmas decorations in storage.
''I know that God is great, and we will make it through this,'' she said.
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
NORTON: The cause of a garage explosion Tuesday that set a bungalow on Clubside Drive on fire is under investigation by the Norton Fire Department.
Get the full article here.
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