COAL TOWNSHIP — Flames ripped through a home in Northumberland County late Sunday night.
It happened just before midnight on Chemung Street near Shamokin.
Fire officials believe ashes from a wood stove caused a fire that wrecked a home in Northumberland County.
A neighbor noticed the fire and alerted the family sleeping inside.
Several hours after the fire at the home on Chemung Street near Shamokin was declared out, firefighters returned because it flared up again.
The Kreischer family lost everything. A mother, father and their twin 6-year-old daughters were asleep at the time.
Neighbor Aaron Pollock spotted the trouble and sprang into action.
“That’s when I ran out dialing 911 and beating on the door, trying to get someone to come to the door and let them know what was going on. She finally came to the door and told her what was going on. She went in, got her kids, grabbed blankets, and woke her husband up,” Pollock said.
Fire officials believe hot embers from a wood stove where placed on a back porch. That’s when something caught fire and spread.
“We say it’s accidental. That way, we’re investigating more, but that’s what it might come down to at this point,” said Coal Township Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Malukas.
One of the main tools for firefighters is water but with the sub-freezing temperatures everything froze.
We found neighbors out breaking up the ice and debris.
“My cars are parked in this lot and it’s loaded with nails and debris and I’m trying to get it cleaned up so I can get my cars out. my wife had to get a ride to work this morning,” said neighbor Jim Yost.
A street department crew joined the neighbors in their attack on the ice.
“We’re trying our best to get it up but there is just so much of it,” said street department worker Jeff Ramer.
The fire victims are staying with family. The fire chief says they’re lucky to be alive.
