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Grandmother Dies, Home Destroyed in Northumberland County Fire

ZERBE TOWNSHIP – A woman is dead after a fire in Northumberland County. The coroner says the victim died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Eight people lived in the...

ZERBE TOWNSHIP – A woman is dead after a fire in Northumberland County. The coroner says the victim died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Eight people lived in the home on Sunshine Road that caught fire Tuesday morning. Several of them were taken to the hospital for treatment, but neighbors say the family's grandmother didn't make it out alive.

The coroner says Brenda Buckler, 62, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Several neighbors we spoke with said what they saw looked like a towering inferno.

"It was too many fire trucks. You couldn't even get in. I saw pictures on Facebook last night. It was bad," said Dean Long.

Neighbors tell us eight people -- four children, their parents, a family friend, and their grandmother -- lived there.

Some of the children and their mother were taken to the Lehigh Valley burn unit for treatment, but the family's grandmother whose bedroom was in the back of the house did not make it out.

The family also lost some dogs and cats in the fire. We found friends helping search for several cats near the home that may have escaped the flames.

Dean Long does repair work on many of the homes in the neighborhood and knows the family who lives here.

"He's doing alright. He was all black and stuff, but he's doing good," Long said. "He got 'em all out, but he couldn't get to the back room to where the grandmother was."

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Neighbors tell us they saw two propane tanks in the back of the house on fire.

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