LORAIN — A fire this morning has left a Lorain man homeless, but, for now, firefighters aren’t sure where that man is.
According to Fire Capt. Dennis Livchak, firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the trailer and the rear of the trailer fully engulfed in flames.
Neighbors initially believed Ryan Pesek, 32, the trailer’s occupant, might be trapped in the trailer, but that wasn’t the case.
Both neighbors and fire officials reported that Pesek was spotted leaving the area on foot a short time after the fire started.
According to one neighbor, “he didn’t seem concerned and he didn’t seem surprised” when informed that his trailer was on fire. Pesek, a Nord Center patient, had been having “some issues” with his landlord at the mobile home park, according to fire Capt. Dennis Livchak.
One neighbor said Pesek was upset because his landlord had recently cut his natural gas service.
Livchak said the trailer, which was worth about $5,000, was a total loss. He said the fire started in the rear bedroom of the home and the cause remains under investigation. Officials from the Lorain Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau were already on scene before 9 this morning.
West Erie Avenue was closed to traffic briefly while firefighters set up a hose to hydrant across the street. They were able to extinguish the fire with the water in their trucks, however, so West Erie reopened within a few minutes.
The State Highway Patrol will be utilizing federal funds to step up patrols and remove drunken drivers from Lorain County roads this weekend, according to Lt. Travis Hughes, commander of the patrol’s Elyria post.
Troopers will be conducting sobriety checkpoints around the state, according to a news release. In Lorain County, there won’t be any checkpoints, just stepped up patrols, Hughes said.
Historically, the Labor Day weekend is one of the deadliest on Ohio’s roads, according to a news release. Last year during Labor Day weekend, 17 people died in accidents, and seven of those deaths were alcohol related.
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Common Ground retreat center in Oberlin is in the running for a $250,000 grant to replace an old pool with a “splash park,” and community members can vote online and by text to help them win.
Voting started today and lasts all month for the Pepsi Refresh Project grant.
Listen to Common Ground’s Rick Grahovac talk about the spray park proposal with WEOL morning show host Jeff Thomas:
Each person can vote once a day online. Additionally, each person can vote once more a day by texting 102532 to Pepsi (73774).
The Common Ground project is currently ranked 60th, up from about 90th yesterday. The top two vote-getters get grants.
To help spread the word and encourage others to vote, Common Ground has launched a Vote and Pass it On Contest. Participants have the opportunity to win one of four iPads.
Participants of the Vote and Pass It On Contest must become a Facebook fan of Common Ground WaterWorks. To enter for an iPad, vote and post a status update about it to your profile. Then post a message of support to the Common Ground WaterWorks fan page.
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Family, friends and fellow firefighters remembered Kevin Criss this morning as a dedicated family man who loved his son “more than life itself” and a good firefighter who loved his job.
Kevin Criss
Criss, 31, of Wellington, was killed overnight when he wrecked his motorcycle in Carlisle Township.
Criss was riding a 2001 Yamaha R-1 motorcycle south on Indian Hollow Road about two-tenths of a mile south of Elbert Drive at about 11:15 p.m. when he lost control on a curve, according to the State Highway Patrol.
He went off the west side of the road and struck a sign and a guardrail, the patrol said. The motorcycle then went airborne and struck an embankment, and Criss was thrown from the bike.
Avon Fire Chief Frank Root III said he went to paramedic school at Lorain County Community College with Criss, and they both graduated in 2000.
“Shortly after I took over as chief, I interviewed him for a position,” Root said. “I was quite happy to have the chance to hire him.
“He won over the rest of the interview panel with his excellent demeanor and personality. He was our overwhelming choice for the hire.”
Criss started with the department in June 2006, Root said.
“Once hired, he proved to be exemplary employee — very dedicated, very knowledgeable,” Root said. “When someone becomes a firefighter, you never know how well they’re going to handle fires — it’s kind of different compared to emergency medical care. Kevin was tremendous at that also.”
Avon Fire Lt. Matt Rosenberger said he was good friends with Criss and had worked with him for about three years.
Before Criss joined the Avon Fire Department, he worked for LifeCare, he said.
“A lot of people in the county knew him,” Rosenberger said. “He was well-liked, good at his job and experienced. He will be sorely missed.”
Root said Criss was a decorated veteran and received awards for his bravery, including a letter of commendation for efforts at the Lorain County Community College fire in early 2009.
“He went into the tunnel not once but three times, facing tremendous heat and fire to help Elyria extinguish the fire,” Root said.
Criss was described as well-liked and loved, an “awesome, sports-loving guy” and “very family oriented.”
Criss, a Firelands High graduate, was married to Rhianna and had a young son, Coltin, who is 2.
According to family and friends, he loved his son “more than life itself” and loved being a firefighter.
Criss’ hobbies included bowling and playing softball, and he had just played in the Avon firefighters vs. police softball game at All Pro Freight Stadium to support breast cancer research last weekend.
According to Root, Criss started at left field and hit a home run to help the firefighters win 26-12. Criss also made some good defensive plays, Root said.
“I like to play myself, but when you watch a young man with his finesse and grace, you get a different appreciation for the sport,” Root said.
Fellow firefighter and paramedic John Gansor left after his shift this morning to visit Criss’ crash site, where he draped an Avon Fire Department T-shirt.
He said he worked with Criss on the B Shift Sunday, which was the last time he saw him. He called Criss a “jokester,” “a really good guy to be around” and a “tremendous human being.”
Gansor said firefighters found out about Criss’ death about 12:30 last night.
He called Criss a “tremendous husband and father.” He recalled Criss taking a ball to his son in the stands at Saturday’s softball game.
Root said Criss was a “tremendous motorcycle rider” and said he’d watched videotape Criss had brought in of some of his stunts.
“He was very accomplished,” Root said. “He had applied to be a stunt rider for Disney.”
Root said he wasn’t familiar with how safe of a rider Criss was but said in the times he’d ridden his bike to work “I never saw him pull out without a helmet on.”
Criss was valued for his EMS background, Root said, adding he was “one of the guys you wanted with you” if you had a call with serious injuries.
Criss’ firefighter number — 504 — will be retired, Root said. Other than that, he said, “We’re going to get through this. We’re going to help his family all we can and try to heal ours.”
“We’re pretty shaken up,” Root said of the department, “but we’re going to hold our own. We’re a pretty young and vibrant department, and Kevin epitomized that.”
According to Gansor, Criss was “just a super, super nice guy.”
“You couldn’t ask for a better friend, a better coworker … he’ll never be forgotten,” he said.
It is unknown at this time whether alcohol played a role in the crash or whether Criss was wearing a helmet, the Highway Patrol said.
Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.
