Fire Fighters Tame the Blaze

(Photos and information provided by Frank Filo) A gas well fire that broke out on Echo Ridge Road in Washington Township Sunday, December 22, just before midnight caused injuries to two workers. One was flown by medical helicopter to a burn center in Pittsburgh. According to 2nd Assistant Chief Frank Filo of the Washington Township Fire Department, it took over an hour to contain the fire. A major reason for this was due to the need to setup a tanker shuttle operation for water supply as this is in a non-hydrant area. Another major concern was the presence of explosives that were stored in a trailer near the well.

Fire Continues In the Night

The fire department was assisted by several of their mutual aid companies, including: Sardis VFC, White Valley VFC, Upper Burrell VFC, Oklahoma VFC and Medic unit, Team 800 Hazmat from Greensburg, Apollo VFC, and the Washington Twp police.

They would like to extend a thank to Kochka's Towing who helped assist several emergency vehicles that were stuck in the mud.

Efforts to Contain the Fire Succeed

The fire was put out and the final units went back into service at 5am Monday morning. The state fire marshal was scheduled to visit the site Monday afternoon.