CLEVELAND, Ohio — Four people remain unaccounted for Tuesday after a fire destroyed a house on Hillview Rd., according to the Cleveland Division of Fire report.
At just before noon, Mike Norman, Cleveland Division of Fire spokesperson, said they were forming a tactical demolition and taking the house apart.
Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, neighbors called firefighters to the 1600-block of Hillview Rd. There was a massive house fire taking place there, complete with serious danger of other buildings catching fire.
A woman, 46, jumped from the burning home. Paramedics then rushed her to the Cleveland Clinic. Her name and condition were not immediately available.
She told firefighters her husband, 46; their daughter, 8; their son, 4; and adult nephew, 44; were all inside the home.
Cleveland Fire Unable to Get Into Home, Rescue Victims
Firefighters were unable to get into the home to begin searching for the victims.
“Nobody’s gone inside the house yet. It’s really compromised,” Norman said earlier Tuesday.
He said part of the roof collapsed and the floors were burned out. Firefighters are brave, but they’re not stupid. Going into a house under those conditions would likely result in unnecessary losses of life.
The State Fire Marshal’s office was headed to the scene to assist in the investigation, Norman said.
He said the home did have smoke detectors, but it was unclear if they were working. You’d hope that, if they were working, the people who are missing would be okay. However, that looks increasingly unlikely the longer they are missing.
Firefighters said they got the flames under control by about 2:30 a.m.
Norman said aside from the flames, firefighters had to battle winds and bitter cold.
“We deal with tragedy, unfortunately, all the time,” Norman said. “It’s really difficult conditions tonight. It’s really frustrating when you can’t go inside and effectuate the rescue.”
