Leetonia Fire Chief Larry Hephner Jr. said he had not received any reports of injuries at the scene of the blaze that totally destroyed large two-story, six-chimney wood-frame home. Firefighters accessed from state Route 344, which was blocked off at Lisbon Canfield Road to eastbound traffic later on.

Resident Mary Louise Usis, 93, was ironing when her son Felix Usis III came and told her they had to get out of the house because it was filled with smoke. Felix, who was visiting from out of town, was said to have a little smoke inhalation, but Mary Louise was fine.

Hephner said smoke was showing through the roof and a mutual aid call was sent out while enroute. Smoke would be seen from miles away.

“We called for mutual aid before we got there,” Hephner said, “we made it inside up to the attic but that was it. We couldn’t get in.”

Leetonia firefighters eventually got help from just about every fire department in Columbiana County plus Canfield, Green, Beaver, Springfield and Boardman townships in Mahoning County.

There was a problem with the water supply. A hydrant at the entrance drive to the McKeefrey property off of state Route 344 didn’t work.

Water tankers, including Beaver Township’s 9,000-gallon tanker, arrived and we “were relaying water with trucks,” Hephner said.

One Green Township tanker was deployed to a pond at the back of the property where firefighters laid 650 feet of hose to get water to the fire scene.

Hephner said, “We used to take tours through the house,” as did one retired firefighter.

Both said as firefighters they each thought how difficult it would be if they had a fire there.

“We always dreaded the thought of this,” Hephner said.

“It’s part of Leetonia history, there’s no doubt about it,” a former firefighter said.

With hundreds of feet of hose laid out, as more departments arrived tankers were filling up from the hydrants in the World Trade Park where plants shut down to free up water to fight the fire. By nightfall state Route 344 was congested with tanker trucks lining up for water.

As sparks and ash rose up, it blew down onto the surrounding dry ground forcing firefighters to stomp out burning leaves and grass fires.

The Columbiana Fire Department trained its ladder hose on the crumbling inside of the house from above as a threesome of Green Township firefighters kept a strong, steady stream at the front.

By this time most of the roof had fallen in and the supporting indoor framework burned away, while the tall brick chimneys remained reaching skyward as the outer walls burned and crumbled to the ground.

Firefighters expected to remain on the scene all night.

EMS personnel were deployed around the scene and were handing out drinking water to keep firefighters hydrated.

lshields@salemnews.net

A Columbiana firefighter puts out one of many small brush fire that started around the property due to hot embers landing on dry leaves and brush.

Patti Schaeffer contributed to this story.