Busy stretch for Charleroi firefighters

They responded to eight calls within 24 hours.

Charleroi firefighters were kept on the move Sunday into Monday, responding to eight calls in a 24-hour stretch — including an early morning pole fire, multiple medical emergencies and a Sunday night crash in Speers where a vehicle struck a home.

The accident happened around 9 p.m. at the bend on Maple Drive near Anne Avenue.

A truck driven by a man who was not identified failed to make the turn just past the Exxon station, left the road and came to a stop up against a house.

“He was right up against the house,” one witness said. “About three or four bricks were loosened, and he tore her landscaping all up.”

No one inside the home was injured. The driver was not transported for treatment, but crews from Charleroi Regional Police, Bujanowski Towing and Rostraver West Newton EMS assisted firefighters at the scene of the accident.

Sunday had already been steady for firefighters before the crash.

It started out with a medical call at Kodiax in Speers, followed by a downed tree on Oakland Avenue that pulled wires down with it.

Around 2 p.m. Sunday, an automatic fire alarm went off at Edgar Jones on Fallowfield Avenue, all before the accident around 9 p.m.

Alarms started early again Monday, with the first call around 5 a.m. as crews responded to Speers Industrial Park for utility poles on fire.

High winds fed the flames, spreading the fire quickly.

“The harder the wind blew, the more it caught,” Fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. said.

Around 9 a.m., crews were dispatched to two back-toback EMS calls, followed by another automatic fire alarm at Dunlevy Manor around 2 p.m.

Whiten said the number and variety of calls underscore how vital both career and volunteer firefighters are to keeping the borough safe.

“They do a lot,” Whiten said referring to his crew. “We do a lot more than people might realize,” Whiten said. “People don’t always see the behind the scenes, but the calls come in steadily — whether it’s a fire, wires down or someone who needs help, we’re there.”