Fire badly damages New Tripoli house, displaces family; pet dog saved

Feb. 01--A large part of a New Tripoli house was destroyed Friday night in a fire that started in the front of the structure and went through the roof, officials said.

No one was injured, but the Groff family of four and their dog were displaced.

The blaze was reported about 8:25 p.m. at the two-story wood-frame house at 7127 Old Orchard Court in Lynn Township, according to New Tripoli fire Chief Peter Christ.

Christ, one of the first firefighters on the scene, found the home in flames.

"Basically, the front of the house was on fire," he said. "There was an addition put on the house about four years ago. That is in the back. The bulk of the fire was in the original part of the house, in the front."

It took firefighters from six fire companies to bring the blaze under control in about an hour and a half, Christ said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No one was home when the fire began. The family -- two adults and two children -- came home to find firefighters all around and all over their house.

Christ said the family will stay with relatives until their house can be rebuilt. The damage is extensive, he said.

"At this point, from what I've seen, it's going to be a total loss," he said. "But that'll be up to the insurance company."

It was a challenge for firefighters to reach some of the second-floor rooms, because a front hallway floor to reach the rooms was destroyed early, Christ said.

"The front of the house on the second floor was burned away," he said. "The rooms were in the back of the house. We had to breach through the wall at the back of the house to get to each of the rooms."

A firefighter rescued the pet dog from the house, he said.

Fire crews filled tanker trucks with water from a pond about a quarter-mile from the house to keep the hoses running. Christ said snow along the roads made it a little difficult to bring in equipment, but the firefighters managed.

New Tripoli Fire Company had assistance from Lynnport, Germansville, Weisenberg, Neffs and TriClover firefighters at the fire scene. Kempton and Schnecksville firefighters were on standby.

Northwestern Ambulance and Macungie Ambulance also assisted.

-- Frank Warner

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