6 homeless after fire
Flames shoot from a duplex at 315 First St., Vestaburg.
Courtesy of Candace Orlandi Flames shoot from a duplex at 315 First St., Vestaburg.
Courtesy of Candace Orlandi Flames shoot from a duplex at 315 First St., Vestaburg.
Firefighters respond to a fire at a duplex at 315 First St., Vestaburg.
Firefighters respond to a fire at a duplex at 315 First St., Vestaburg.
VESTABURG – Monday’s high winds and subsequent power outages may have indirectly contributed to a duplex fire in Vestaburg that left at least six people homeless.
Scott Schuler’s family left their home at 315 First St. and visited family in Carmichaels after the power went out during the high winds, and they didn’t plan on returning until 11 p.m. when the electricity was expected to return.
But his fiancée’s 16-year-old daughter, Eliza Patterson, who was visiting friends, returned home before them and lit a candle for light. Schuler said the candle was somehow knocked to the floor and Eliza was concerned that nearby oxygen tanks might explode, prompting her to run from the house to get help.
That led to major fire about 7:30 p.m. that destroyed the duplex, although no one was injured.
“I’m just glad that everybody is OK,” Schuler said. “It just went up so fast. It’s everything we have.”
Schuler, his fiancée, Jennifer White, her 11-year-old daughter, Rebecca, and the couple’s newborn baby, Jace, returned from Carmichaels to find the home they rent in flames. They planned to stay with family after losing everything in the blaze.
The other occupant of the duplex, identified by neighbors as Mike Matusky, was not home at the time, but his unit received heavy damage.
Witnesses said the fire also caused an explosion, and glass could be seen littered on roads near the house.
“It was a big explosion,” said Dan Rose, who lives next door. “It was really big, like a mortar going off.”
East Bethlehem fire Chief Jim Starkey said they were able to control the ferocious blaze with flames shooting from all sides of the building before it could spread to neighboring homes.
“There was a lot of popping going on,” Starkey said of electric lines brought down from the fire. “We had live wires down.”
East Bethlehem firefighters were assisted at the scene by crews from Denbo-Vesta 6, Richeyville and Bentleyville. It was a long day for many of them, who also responded to a fire that destroyed a home on Ridge Road in Centerville just five hours before. Another fire was reported in Washington about noon that left a man with severe burns on his leg.
It was not immediately known if the American Red Cross would be assisting the residents left homeless from Monday night’s blaze in Vestaburg.