by Kate Shunney
A Morgan County man survived a trailer fire on December 29 due to the actions of a county Animal Control officer who stopped and pulled the man from the flaming residence.
Morgan County Animal Control Officer Ivory Brown called the structure fire into the 911 center around 2:25 p.m. on Monday, December 29. Officer Brown told dispatchers that the trailer along Fish Hatchery Road was on fire, and the structure was fully involved in the blaze.
According to firefighters, Brown had just left an Animal Control call at Tri-Lake Park and was leaving the area when she saw the flames.
Brown stopped and found a man on the floor of the residence, unable to get himself out.
Berkeley Springs Fire Capt. Robert Frey said Brown made multiple attempts to move the resident out of the trailer and on the final attempt was able to get Marshall Stotler out of the burning structure.
An EMS unit that responded to the call immediately loaded the man up and took him to Winchester Medical Center for treatment. He was later transferred to a burn unit in Washington for treatment of external burns and smoke damage in his lungs. He is said to be in stable condition.
Reynolds Store Volunteer Fire Company’s Chief was first on scene and began an interior attack on the fire, along with units from Gainesboro. Capt. Frey assumed command once Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Company reached the scene. Crews extinguished the fire and completed overhaul of the fire scene in roughly an hour, said Capt. Frey. The West Virginia Fire Marshal visited the fire scene but did not make a determination about the cause of the fire. All units cleared the scene at 3:40 p.m. Fish Hatchery Road was closed during the fire response.
Responding units came from Berkeley Springs, South Morgan, Reynolds Store, Gainesboro, Gore and Morgan County EMS.
Brown was hailed as a hero in rescuing the older resident from the structure in time for him to receive medical attention.
