MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — At least one person is dead after a fire in Monroe County.
Flames broke out at the home on Route 390 near Canadensis around 3 a.m. Monday.
The Monroe County coroner says Ronald Williams, 65, died in the fire.
Neighbor Tim Martin and his family were sleeping next door when his dog woke him.
"We looked right out the windows, and it was already pretty well engulfed, and by the time we came outside, it started in the front porch, corner area, and within minutes the whole house was pretty much engulfed."
"Just a large amount of fire that we attacked right from the get-go, right from the beginning. Which is obviously our first attack to go in. We deployed a two-and-a-half-inch line right to the heavy fire and an inch-and-three-quarter line to the rear of the structure," said Barrett Township Fire Chief Grover Cleveland
Chief Cleveland tells us a mother and her three children got out safely, but their father, 65-year-old Ronald Williams, died in the fire.
The Red Cross is assisting the family.
"He was up there in age, but still, you know, you don't want that to happen to anybody. You know, it's sad. That's not a way to go," said the chief.
Neighbors who knew the victims say this is heartbreaking.
"I want to say scary, but it's more. It's a reality check because you know it could have been our house. It was close enough that it was almost ready to spread over if the fire department hadn't come," Martin said.
A fire marshal has been called in to investigate the cause.
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