Firefighters battle two fires in southeastern Greene County
Fire destroyed a Dunkard Township home at 296 Moffit Road about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A firefighter gives directions to two firefighters on the roof a home at 296 Moffit Road in Dunkard Township that was destroyed by fire Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters work to control the blaze that destroyed a home at 296 Moffit Road in Dunkard Township Wednesday afternoon.
DILLINER – Two house fires reported within 90 minutes of each other in southeastern Greene County destroyed one residence and damaged the other, and stretched firefighters thin as they responded to both blazes Wednesday afternoon.
No one was injured in either blaze, but the American Red Cross is assisting the family of five that lived at the Dunkard Township home that was destroyed.
Bobtown firefighters were called to 296 Moffit Road in Dunkard Township shortly before 2:30 p.m. and found the two-story home engulfed in flames. The homeowner, Betty Anderson, was away at the time, but said she received a call from her daughter, Jamie DeWitt, who told her the house was on fire. DeWitt told her mother she was frying chicken and left the house briefly to go outside and returned to find the kitchen on fire.
Anderson lived at the home with her two grandsons, DeWitt and her daughter’s boyfriend, Jason Debolt. None of the home’s residents were injured, and five cats and two dogs were also unharmed.
Anderson, who has homeowners insurance, said she and her family plan to stay with nearby relatives.
Anderson was overcome with emotion while she watched helplessly as the home she lived in for 40 years burned.
“Five generations lived in that home. My husband’s ashes are in there. My mother’s ashes are in there,” Anderson said while covering her mouth as she sobbed.
“My life, my world,” she said. “This is a nightmare.”
Firefighters from Greensboro, Mt. Morris, Carmichaels, Point Marion and Nemacolin assisted Bobtown at that scene for more than three hours. However, that created a logistical issue when another house fire was reported at 905 Mapletown Road in Monongahela Township – just five miles away – shortly before 4 p.m.
An emergency dispatcher said an upstairs bedroom inside that home caught fire. No one was injured in that blaze, either, and the extent of damage to the home was not immediately known.
The state police fire marshal is investigating both fires.