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Neighbors Save Woman from Flames in West Hazleton

WEST HAZLETON — Neighbors sprang into action in an effort to save a disabled woman from a burning home in West Hazleton on Monday. Moments after noticing ...

WEST HAZLETON -- Neighbors sprang into action in an effort to save a disabled woman from a burning home in West Hazleton on Monday.

Moments after noticing flames, one neighbor even ran into the home before firefighters arrived.

Fire investigators believe a faulty power cord is to blame for a fire that started on the second floor of the home on West Green Street in West Hazleton.

An older wheelchair-bound woman was inside the home when the fire started. The fire chief says she only made it out thanks to quick reaction from her neighbors.

"I'm sure if I hadn't come out, looked, and said, 'Tom, turn around!' The minute he turned around, he said, 'Oh, my God!'' Delores Flaim recalled.

Delores Flaim, 84, was one of the neighbors who ran toward the fire. Her son Tom, who was visiting, grabbed a key she had to the home and ran inside the burning house.

A West Hazleton police officer followed and together they carried the woman to safety.

"It was a blessing really. It could've been a heck of a lot worse. Nobody hesitated."

Firefighters do not recommend anyone run into a burning home. But in this case, they do commend the neighbors for their quick reaction. A few more minutes for the elderly woman who lived in this home could've resulted in far more than just damage.

"Everybody says the bad rap that this area gets, Hazleton and West Hazleton, the crime, the drugs. But when you see community people like this, banding together, that renews me," said West Hazleton Fire Chief Shawn Evans.

Chief Evans believes both the neighbor who ran into the burning home, and the police officer who followed, deserve to be recognized for possibly saving a woman's life, and for reminding many of the tightknit communities that still exist around here.

"We are going to approach council about honoring the neighbor and the police officer for what they did, because without them this could've turned out to be a lot worse."

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