Fire leaves eight homeless on Labor Day

Sept. 08--COAL TOWNSHIP -- A late morning house fire destroyed a Coal Township double house, leaving eight people homeless.

Firefighters on the scene said within minutes of the fire breaking out at around 10 a.m. Monday, the homes at 1117 and 1119 Tioga St. were engulfed in flames.

Coal Township Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Malukas said he lives just a few blocks away from the fire. When he looked out and saw black smoke, he immediately called for help. By the time he reached the fire, the house was fully engulfed.

"I felt the heat three yards over," he said.

The fire may have been propelled by propane tanks sitting at the front of the house, which vented out, he said.

The intense heat from the flames in combination with the hot summer weather sickened two firefighters with heat exhaustion. Both were taken into an air-conditioned truck and treated at the scene.

A third firefighter suffered minor burns to his forehead and was also treated by ambulance crews at the scene. The heat also melted the lights and a hose on a fire truck working at the scene.

Five nearby houses were damaged by the heat, but the fire was largely contained to the original house. Malukas said it took about 45 minutes to get the fire under control.

Rapidly spreading fire caused the second floor of the house to collapse. The foundation was visibly skewed, and state police fire marshal Trooper Kirk Renn was at the scene to investigate.

Malukas said the house will likely be torn down today. Firefighters and investigators were unable to enter the house Monday afternoon due to the extensive damage.

"It's too dangerous to go in," he said.

Families at World's End

The families of Robert Casner, of 1119 Tioga St., and Daniel Boyd, of 1117 Tioga St., left together at around 8:30 a.m. on a day trip to World's End Park, to celebrate the birthday of Boyd's daughter.

Stella Casner said the group of eight had spent the morning swimming and was heading up to a picnic area for lunch when one of the men noticed he had a missed call. Because he couldn't get cell phone reception in that area, he was unable to check his messages.

A short time later, park rangers came to their picnic site and gave them the news.

"That's when we found out the house was gone," she said.

The last of the family members arrived at the house at around 3 p.m., about a half hour before firefighters left for the day. Several screamed at the sight of the destroyed house.

"I'm just happy that my daughter and wife and everybody's safe," said Boyd.

Casner said she had lost a dog, six cats and five guinea pigs. Neither families was insured.

"We couldn't get new insurance because of the roof," she said. The house was more than 100 years old and was built with little fireproofing, she said.

Coal Township patrolman Chad Yoder said the fire likely began on the left side of the house, 1117 Tioga St., because the damage there was much more severe. A full investigation is taking place.

The location of the house on a steep incline led firefighers to almost instantly pull a second alarm. Firefighters from Coal Township, Shamokin, Kulpmont, Overlook, Atlas, Mount Carmel Borough and Marion Heights responded to the call.

The Red Cross is assisting the families to find temporary accommodations.

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