SALEM TOWNSHIP -- Firefighters in part of Luzerne County really had their hands full Monday morning when two house fires broke out in the same neighborhood.
Officials say neither fire is suspicious, but there are still unanswered questions.
An electric generator played a role in the earlier fire. Firefighters are still unable to say why the people in that home in Salem Township was hooked up to a generator in the first place. Neighbors tell us the home was recently purchased and undergoing repairs. Electricity was supposed to be turned on sometime on Monday.
Firefighters from Salem Township and surrounding communities began their morning around 1 a.m. when a home along Salem Boulevard, (Route 11) burned.
It's believed to be an accident. The fire chief thinks the flames got their start in an outside generator, and spread to the home.
Three people were inside and all got out safely.
Then, about five hours later, and a quarter of a mile away, another home along Route 11 caught fire.
Kathy Reese lives nearby. She got there quickly to help the three people inside at the time her friends. The family told her how they knew their home was on fire.
"The smoke," said Reese. "The smoke came up through the heating vents and that's when they came out, for the fire, the blaze came up through the vents."
Reese says her three friends and their two dogs got out safely, but they lost everything they own.
The fire chief thinks this fire was also an accident. The flames got their start in a wood burning stove.
Another neighbor, Les Schnee, was also one of the first here.
"I got a whiff of smoke and when I looked out the front window of my house, facing down here, I could see flames coming out of the house here and I called 911," said Schnee.
Even though the fires are not related, there is nothing suspicious, and there is no need to worry about a fire bug running around, this made for an unforgettable morning in this Luzerne County neighborhood.
Rich Eyer is the Salem Township fire chief for the two early morning fires.
"It's a rarity," said Chief Eyer.
No one was hurt in either fire.