RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Investigators are asking for the public’s help in finding the person or people responsible for a September fire that killed a man and injured several other residents of a Richmond Heights apartment building.
The fire broke out about 4:10 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Loganberry Ridge Apartments in the 26000 block of Whiteway Drive, Richmond Heights Fire Chief Marc Neumann said.
The fire started in an elevator car that closed before bystanders were able to extinguish the flames, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau. The burning elevator car opened on the third floor and the fire spread throughout the halls and into the apartments.
Thick clouds of heavy smoke forced residents on to their balconies, Neumann said. Firefighters rescued about a dozen residents by ladder, but not everyone made it out safely. A resident from the third floor was carried out by firefighters and brought to a local hospital, where he died, Neumann said.
Five other residents were treated at the hospital for minor injuries, Neumann said.
The third and fourth floors of the building are uninhabitable after the fire, according to the State Fire Marshal’s office.
“This is one of several incidents, including fires, that has occurred at apartment buildings in the area in recent months,” State Fire Marshal spokesman Brian Bohnert said.
The Blue Ribbon Arson Committee is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who may be responsible for the fire.
Anyone with information is asked to call the State Fire Marshal’s tip line at 800-589-2728 or Cuyahoga County Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463.
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