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Man Dead after Fire in Schuylkill County

POTTSVILLE — Crews were sent to the scene of a deadly fire early Tuesday morning in Schuylkill County that displaced multiple people. The coroner’s ...

POTTSVILLE -- Crews were sent to the scene of a deadly fire early Tuesday morning in Schuylkill County that displaced multiple people.

The coroner's office said Thomas Howard, 59, died in the blaze on East Norwegian Street in Pottsville.

The flames started around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters believe the flames got their start in Howard's second-floor apartment in the 300 block of East Norwegian Street. According to the fire chief, the fire was caused by Howard smoking in bed.

Flames were shooting from the apartment when the first firefighters got there. Howard didn't make it out.

Marion Troy and her Chihuahua Pipsi stayed warm and dry at the Phoenix Fire Company Number Two, just two doors away from the burning building. She lives in a row home, just up the block.

"My daughter woke me up," Troy recalled. "I was sleeping. She said she smelled smoke and the fireman came down the steps and that."

Marion and Pipsi are among the lucky ones. They were allowed back in their homes after the fire was out and the smoke cleared.

Eight others were not.

There is simply too much damage in the row home where the fire broke and the one next door.

The damage goes beyond two buildings.   People on East Norwegian Street are heartbroken over the loss of their neighbor.

Erika Ebling says Thomas was a man with disabilities, blind in one eye. He lived alone, and was still able to get around.

"His smile," she said remembering her neighbor. "I just saw him just last week. He told me he loved me."

"He always talked nice," Troy added. "He said, 'God bless,' you know? He was a nice man. We're going to miss him."

As for the eight people out of their homes, they're being put up in a hotel by the American Red Cross.

Fighting a fire in some Pottsville neighborhoods is always a challenge. They are filled with rowhomes and firefighters are always concerned the flames are going to spread up and down the block.

The assistant fire chief said there were no firewalls, but the brick walls of the row homes helped them keep the whole block from going up.

And there was another complication: two feet of snow fell there Saturday.

"Our street crew had this area opened up, so it was very easy for us to get here and the hydrants that we needed to use, we were able to get on very quick," said Pottsville Assistant Fire Chief Jason Witmier.

Having a fire station on the same block also helped keep the flames from spreading.

No firefighters were hurt, but one was taken to the hospital for possible asthma related issues.

Man Dead after Fire in Schuylkill County

 

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