Jan 13, 2017 2 min read

The chief of Marianna Volunteer Fire Company said the fire that killed a West Bethlehem Township woman Thursday night likely had been burning for some time before the flames were spotted by a passing motorist.

Cynthia Ann Scott (Ostrich), 59, was pronounced dead about three hours after firefighters from several communities were called to her home at 1204 Barr Run Road just before 6 p.m. after the motorist saw the flames and notified a neighbor. Coroner Tim Warco said the cause and manner of her death are pending an autopsy.

“It was fully involved when we got there,” said Chief Michael Rose. “There is hardly any traffic on that road.

“A neighbor told us that if her car was in the garage, then she was likely home,” Rose said of Scott. “We looked and the car was in the garage.

“We tried attacking the fire, but we had some issues with a few firefighters getting shocked,” Rose said, explaining that a wire was down and current was likely being conducted through the water around the house. “It wasn’t anything bad, but they could feel it.”

Rose said they were not able to make entry into the two-story frame house, which started to collapse.

“A lot of the floors burned out,” he added.

A state police fire marshal is investigating, but Rose said determining the cause would be difficult because of the extent of the damage.

Rose said a Richeyville firefighter injured his knee and was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment. The chief said he did not know the extent of the injury.

Also assisting at the fire along with units from Marianna and Richeyville were firefighters from Ellsworth, East Bethlehem Township and Jefferson in Greene County.

While firefighters were battling that fire, there also was a report of a vehicle fire about 8:30 p.m. on Sixth Street in Marianna. Crews from Lone Pine, Cokeburg and Jefferson responded to that call.