Man Rescued from Fire in Mansfield, OH

MANSFIELD, Ohio – A Mansfield man was hospitalized after firefighters rescued him from his burning home Saturday night.

Just before 11:45 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a fire at a multi-family home located in the 500 block of South Main Street.

When crews arrived, smoke was showing from the upper portion of the home. Firefighters then went inside and found a man lying on the floor. He was not breathing.

Firefighters resuscitated the victim by performing CPR after removing him from the building.

The victim was then flown to a hospital in Columbus, according to Mansfield firefighters, but his condition and name was not released.

Firefighters later determined the fire started in a bedroom; however the cause remains under investigation.

Firefighters also said a suspect had been taken into custody in connection to the fire.

Fire and smoke damage, which has been estimated at $25,000, was contained to the upstairs unit. No other injuries were reported.

The man was saved thanks to Mansfield firefighters and a SAFER grant that was awarded to the city.  The firefighter that found the victim was Jared Durstin, who was hired in 2013 thanks to the grant money from the Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for an Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program.

Dan Crow, Mansfield fire fighter local 266 president said “without SAFER allowing us to staff at a proper level, I’m not sure that our guys make that rescue as quickly and give that citizen a chance to live.”

In 2013 Mansfield was awarded a $2.1 million grant to hire 15 firefighters.  Before the grant, Mansfield’s staffing was the lowest since the early 1970’s