LEMON TOWNSHIP -- One person is dead after a fire in Wyoming County.
The fire started around 9 a.m. Monday in a home on Mason Road in Lemon Township, near Lake Carey in the Tunkhannock area.
A man who lives on Mason Road was out walking his dog Monday morning when he saw the flames. He called the fire in, hoping his next-door neighbor and friend of more than two decades was not home.
The neighbor knew the part of the house that was on fire was the victim's bedroom. He also knew that's where she spent most of her time, but all the doors were locked, so all he could do was wait for fire crews to get there.
The next person to arrive was Lemon Township roadmaster Mike Wilson.
"I was out cindering dirt roads for the ice, and the tones went off, so I went over and it was fully engulfed by the time I got there," Wilson said.
Mason Road is a dirt road that's been dealing with snow and ice for the last week. Wilson did what he could to help fire crews.
"Take it in stride. I cindered the road for the guys so they could walk around and not be falling," he said.
Neighbors tell Newswatch 16 the fire started just before 9 a.m. Several fire companies from both Wyoming and Susquehanna counties responded to the home on Mason Road.
"We dispatched our second alarm and got mutual aid from surrounding companies. We found heavy fire when we first got here, and we knocked it down pretty quickly," said Triton Hose Company Chief Randy White.
Neighbors say the woman was in her 60s, didn't drive, and mainly just kept to herself.
"I didn't know her personally, but everyone who lives down there takes care of her. She lived alone, as far as I know," said Wilson.
Fire officials say that despite the fact that they were able to knock the flames down quickly, an ending like this is the hardest part of the job.
"It's a small community, so a lot of people know everyone in the community, so when this happens it affects the whole community," the chief said.
The woman's name has not been released.
A state police fire marshal was at the home investigating to determine the cause of the fire. The fire chief says they believe the fire started in the bedroom.