The Ralston residents evacuated after fire ignites on first floor

Residents of The Ralston were temporarily evacuated Saturday from the 102-year-old building after fire ignited in a room, a Columbus fire official said.

No one was injured in the 10:50 a.m. fire but one resident was transported to the hospital for what appeared to be an unrelated health problem, said Capt. Daniel Hord, acting battalion chief for Columbus Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.

Hord said a resident on the second floor of the building at 211 12th St. called about smoke. Firefighters arrived and found fire in a room on the first floor. Firefighters were able to quickly contain and extinguish the fire, he said.

Officials haven’t determined a cause or origin of the fire. The unidentified room where the fire ignited is uninhabitable but residents would be cleared to return to the other residences in the 10-story building. The building has 269-housing units.

The Ralston was built in 1914 and now provides low-income housing for the disabled and elderly residents. Because of the scope of the fire and need for evacuation, Hord said 13 fire units were called to the scene with 46 firefighters. Twelth Street was blocked between Second and Third avenues. North and southbound traffic also was blocked on Second Avenue between 11th and 13th Streets.

Ron Cyr, a resident, said he awoke about 9:30 a.m. and later heard a fire truck outside his third-floor window near Second Avenue. “I went out into the hallway and heard fire alarm so I came down stairs,” he said. “I got hold of everybody on my floor to get out the building.”

Cyr, an Army veteran who uses a motorized wheelchair, said he used a cane to get down stairs. “Considering where the fire was , it wasn’t too bad,” he said. “All I had to do was come down the stairway.”

Gloria Chandler, 64, said she was at St. Luke for lunch when she heard people talking about The Ralston. “I heard them say something and I left everything” she said.

When she arrived at the building, Chandler said she handed firefighters the keys to her sixth-floor room. She was aware that there was smoke throughout the building. She was concerned about her dog, Toby, a Chihuahua.

Just before 1 p.m., some residents on floors 2-10 were directed to reenter the building. Chandler never heard anything about the condition of her dog. “ I hope he is still alive,” she said.

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 2:12 PM with the headline "The Ralston residents evacuated after fire ignites on first floor."