Ohio Firefighter gets electrical shock dealing with blaze

A Springfield Township firefighter got an electrical shock while fighting a fire on Hilldale Road Monday evening.

Brian Smithson was treated and expected to be released from Community Hospital Monday night. The fire began in an outbuilding at Hilldale Auto Sales, 2818 Hilldale Road. Smithson was checking a connected garage to see whether the fire had spread, Springfield Township Fire Chief John Roeder said. Firefighters believed the electricity had been turned off in the buildings, but Smithson came into contact with a live wire in the garage, Roeder said. "It was scary there for a while," Roeder said. The call came in about 6:20 p.m. and the fire was under control within a half hour of Springfield Township firefighters arriving, Roeder said. No damage estimates were available Monday night. The state fire marshal was called in to investigate the fire which destroyed the outbuilding at the business. Roeder said the business has complained of vandalism in the past. No evidence of arson was immediately apparent, he said.