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HOWLAND -- An early morning house fire here left a man hospitalized for smoke inhalation and led to the precautionary evacuation of a neighboring home, Howland fire Chief James Pantalone said Sunday.
But while battling the fire, crews also were battling the brutal cold, elements that always create additional challenges for firefighters.
The call Sunday came in at 2:38 a.m. for the house in the 4000 block of Adrian Drive.
Pantalone said the home's resident, Pete Kondolios, was taken to St. Joseph Warren Hospital and then transferred to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Pantalone said Kondolios' condition had stabilized by Sunday afternoon.
In another unrelated house fire later Sunday morning, Weathersfield fire crews also battled problems created by a frozen hydrant in Mineral Ridge.
The residents of the home on Laura Lane escaped that blaze safely. Crews were dispatched at 7:41 a.m., according to Trumbull County 911 dispatch. A nearby hydrant that was packed with snow caused firefighters to resort to other nearby hydrants.
In both fires, crews were aided by neighboring departments, all enduring temperatures that had reached minus 12 degrees overnight.
Howland's Pantalone said crews were hampered by the water turning to ice after being applied to the burning house.
"The hydrant worked well, but firefighters had trouble maneuvering through sheets of ice that formed on the house," he said.
The firefighters also had their gear frozen, Pantalone said, but that wasn't a big problem.
"It acted like insulation," he said.
Because of the cold, Pantalone said he had to use more people to fight the fire, with crews from Bazetta, Cortland, Weathersfield, Vienna and the Youngstown Air Reserve Station responding. To warm the crews, the Trumbull County HAZMAT team later arrived on scene to set up a heated tent, Pantalone said. HAZMAT also provided hot liquids, he said.
A 911 call sheet states that a neighboring house had to be evacuated as a precautionary measure in Howland.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but investigators say they believe it started in the kitchen.
Trumbull County HAZMAT similarly aided firefighters during the Weathersfield blaze later Sunday morning. In addition to Weathersfield Fire Department, other crews assisted from Lordstown, McDonald, Austintown and Lanes EMS.
gvogrin@tribtoday.com