JESSUP, Pa. — “Flames, smoke, the entire or most of the Jessup borough was engulfed in smoke," said Erin Owen from Archbald after she arrived at her niece's house on Fourth Avenue Saturday night.
“And there were flames coming out of both houses. They couldn't contain the fire, and it just kept starting and restarting, and there were flames coming out of both houses,” she added.
Owen's niece lived in the home on the left, next to what used to be a vacant home in the middle. That's where the fire chief believes the flames started. The fire then spread to both houses on either side.
Owen's relatives lost everything.
It took firefighters over five hours to put out the blaze that destroyed three homes.
“The main issue was this second house here on the right, which was loaded with a lot of clothes and memorabilia, and to gain access it was virtually impossible,” explained Jessup Fire Chief Bob Vislosky.
The fire chief tells Newswatch 16 the fire was so intense that firefighters were unable to enter any of the houses.
"You got three houses burning, so you got to expect that it lit up the sky like daytime,” mentioned Robert Berta, a volunteer firefighter.
While crews battled the flames, many neighbors opened their homes to the ones that lost theirs.
“A woman who lives in the house closest to us, we actually took her in here while the crews were doing their work,” said Brianna Kohut from Jessup.
“The support of the community, communities, and the residents and the neighbors, they always come through,” Owen said.
The fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.
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