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Fire Hits Historic Home in Montrose

MONTROSE — A community is rallying around a fire victim after her historic home burned in Susquehanna County. Fire crews were called to the home on Lake A...
SUSQ FIRE 3-flames

MONTROSE -- A community is rallying around a fire victim after her historic home burned in Susquehanna County.

Fire crews were called to the home on Lake Avenue in Montrose around 2:30 p.m. Monday. Crews worked for hours to douse the flames.

“She noticed the flames and she has a woman there with her, helping her, and she uses a walker. They got her out into the garage and she herself called the fire company, called 911,” said Larry Souder of Montrose.

Fire crews from Montrose and beyond battled the fire for hours. They say the second and third floors of the home on are “basically a total loss.”

Fire officials and friends say the woman who lived here, Sarah Bertsch is in her 90s and a well-known and respected member of the community. She plays the organ at First Presbyterian Church in Montrose. Her late husband was a surgeon here. Before that, the two of them did missionary work in the Middle East.

“I've been a guest in her home many times. In fact, we were supposed to meet there tonight for a bible study,” Souder said.

“I feel sorry for Mrs. Bertsch, the woman who lives there. She's lived there for 50 years and it hits home, you know? It really does,” said Robert Caterson of Montrose.

Bertsch's home is in a historic section of Montrose. She told friends her house was built around 1850. She's lived there since the early 1960s.

After the flames were doused, firefighters worked to salvage what they could for the Bertsch family.

“There's some paintings and heirlooms that they're trying to get out, so we're moving those for them,” said Montrose United Fire Company Assistant Chief Mike Hinds.

Bertsch's family and friends are helping her now. Some say it's the least they can do for a woman who's done so much for others.

“She is a very highly respected woman and her husband was in terms of his saving lives, a medical doctor, and she's had a profound impact on many, many lives. Anyone helping her now kind of feels they're returning just a small bit of what she's contributed to them and to her community,” Souder said.

The fire chief said Bertsch's smoke detectors went off and she noticed the smoke, managing to get out in time.

The fire is not considered suspicious. The cause is under investigation.

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