BOB REYNOLDS and RYAN LECKEY
WNEP
Reprinted with Permission

Flames leveled four houses and a former business in Schuylkill County and now neighbors are left wondering how it started.


families from their homes, including a 91-year-old woman who lived on the block for decades.

No one was hurt. Fire officials estimate the blaze caused more than $250,000 in damage.

The fire is out and the building where the fire started is at ground level. Heavy equipment was moved in to dig out hot spots at the former restaurant where fire officials believe the blaze started.

"This building was half burned down already when we got the call," said New Philadelphia Fire Chief Al Gilbert.

The intense fire quickly spread to four homes, two vacant and two occupied. Five people were forced out of their homes.

"I am lucky I got out with my life and my boys. That was my main concern, getting them out, my neighbor out. That was my concern," said fire victim Mary Faust. "I'm here 15 years or longer and this is the first time it caught on fire. Never had a problem before. Don't know what I'm going to do now." She added she rented the place and didn't have insurance.

"I looked out the window. I saw a red light and saw flames everywhere," said neighbor Kayla Matlock.

Those flames, according to investigators, started in the restaurant at the intersection of Lombard and Water streets. The fire chief said there was no electricity hooked up to the old restaurant.

Sara Burke said her brother and 91-year-old grandmother were staying in one of the houses that caught fire, a home her grandmother lived in for 57 years. "My brother's dog was actually staying with them. He woke my brother up. By the time he got upstairs to get her, that's when their smoke detectors were going off," Burke said.

"She (the dog) put half of her body on top of me and started pawing me here and I got up and saw the smoke and my first reaction was to get my grandmother and there was more smoke in the staircase," said fire victim A.J. Burke. He added he and his grandmother were lucky to escape with their lives. "I never want to go through this again. Never, never again." He and his grandmother escaped unharmed and managed to save a few family photographs.

Burke's dog, Sable, is being treated to a steak dinner for its heroic efforts, according to its owner.

People credited firefighters with stopping the fire from spreading to the rest of the neighborhood. A vinyl fence across the street melted from the blaze.

"Could have lost the whole town. They did a good job in keeping it from spreading from the rest of the houses," said neighbor Jim Ptsmeda.

"We went to the window and you can see the flames coming over the top," said neighbor Peter Scopa.

"There are properties that were in back here and on the side that are empty that could have took off and the whole block could have went," said neighbor Ralph Dodds.

A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause. He was seen removing pieces of charred wood as evidence.

New Philadelphia has had several unsolved, intentionally set fires in the past including one just last year. People hope the latest blaze was not intentionally set.

"They better do something fast. I don't know what's going on here. The devil's striking, right Bobby? The devil's striking," said neighbor Butch Tomey.

"This is scary to have this many fires in such a confined area in such a short amount of time. It scares me," said neighbor Melanie Moore.

The American Red Cross and Salvation Army in Schuylkill County have stepped in to help the fire victims.