Fairlawn City Worker Alerts Fire Department, Saves Pets

Two dogs were rescued from a house fire Thursday thanks to an alert employee of the Fairlawn Service Department.

Scott Testa was driving a city snowplow down the 200 block of Shiawassee Avenue at around 8:30 a.m. when he noticed smoke coming from a house on his route, council members were told Monday by Service Director John Sellers.

The service director read from a letter sent to council by Fairlawn Fire Department Lt. Rick Szeles. "He immediately stopped his truck and tried to determine if anyone was at home by knocking on the front door." When he heard animals, but no answer, Testa ran to the back of the house, opened the door and let the dogs into the yard. "He took the opportunity to to walk through the first floor of the house to ensure that no children or adults were inside."

Sellers said the city is considering a resolution to honor Testa. "His actions were quite a shock and a tribute to Scott's character and concern for everyone's well-being. His actions were especially valuable since only three firefighters were available at the time due to medical calls.

In other news:

• Council voted 7-0 to place a six-month moratorium on the opening of Internet cafes or arcades within the city limits.  Law director Ed Riegler said the time will be used to strengthen existing city ordinances to prohibit gambling parlors.

The city currently has no gambling establishments within its borders. "We are just trying to be proactive," Ward 3 councilman Bryan Nace said. 

• According to a report from the service department, about seven residents called Monday morning to report wet basements, most reported no more than two inches of water.  Service Director Sellers told council that a crew drained sanitary sewer runoff into the city's storm sewer for  approximately two-and-one-half hours, beginning at 4:30 a.m. The pumping is permitted in instances of high flooding by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Sellers said crews did not go out to the facility earlier because it is city and county policy to wait until a flood warning is issued.  "At 8:30, as far as I know," Sellers said, "we were still on flood watch."                                               

Crews went to the pumping station without a flood warning when an alarm at the facility went off. He told council members he was open to re-evaluating the procedure.