Nothing Suspicious About Cork Street Road Fire
8 January 2020 News
(Ripon Area Fire District photo)
There was nothing suspicious about a fire that destroyed a home on Cork Street Road in the Town of Ripon last month. Ripon Area Fire District Chief Tim Saul says they want people to know that. He says by the time they got out to the scene the fire already had a big head start. Saul decided to pull firefighters out who were pulling ceiling in the house and it turned out to be a life-saving decision. “There was what we call a smoke explosion, basically a backdraft. It actually blew the west section of the roof off in one piece. It was a significant, significant explosion. At that point I called for an emergency evacuation.” No one was injured, but the fire destroyed the home belonging to Charles and Jacqueline Nelson, causing over $1 million in damage. Saul believes the fire could have claimed up to four firefighters’ lives if their timing had been off. He says because it was too unsafe to investigate the site the department listed the cause as undetermined.
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