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Fire Under Investigation in Laflin

LAFLIN, Pa. — A fire at a home in Luzerne County is under investigation. No one was hurt, but some strange circumstances surround the blaze. It took firef...

LAFLIN, Pa. -- A fire at a home in Luzerne County is under investigation. No one was hurt, but some strange circumstances surround the blaze.

It took firefighters just two minutes to get to that home, but by then, neighbors say the whole house was up in flames.

Firefighters rushed to the home on Main Street in Laflin around 4 a.m. Tuesday. Neighbors saw the flashing lights and woke up terrified.

"My husband woke me up and told me the house next door was on fire. There were flames all over the place," said Margaret Simerson.

Firefighters say two people living there were able to get out safely, but their dog did not escape.

By the daytime, Kerry Kocher was able to see some of the damage. He owns the property and was renting it out to those two other people when it went up in flames.

"I wasn't surprised. I've had my share of trouble here in the past two years or so," Kocher said.

The owner of the house says he's been inside and it doesn't look like it can be fixed.

"By the time they got here, the house was engulfed in flames. I don't know who called them or what, but it was one of the worst I've ever seen," said neighbor James Simerson.

Firefighters say a man who lived there was waving a knife when crews arrived. Simerson saw it all play out.

"He was confronting everyone over there. He, for some reason, kept screaming he wanted the state police, and the state police came, and he started yelling he wanted a certain state trooper," Simerson said.

That man was taken away by state police. They haven't said if any charges have come out of all this. But Simerson says his neighbor wasn't acting like himself.

"He was out of character. I don't know if he was feeling good or what."

A Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal has not released what caused the fire.

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