By Kent Jackson
Standard-Speaker
SUGARLOAF TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Fire struck a home in Sugarloaf Township on Tuesday afternoon, sending smoke across the valley and triggering a response from at least 10 volunteer fire companies.
A woman living in the home at 292 Larock Road escaped the flames but was unable to telephone for help because fire burned through her phone line, Sugarloaf Township Fire Chief Duane Hildebrand said.
A motorist telephoned 911 and stopped at a neighbor’s home to raise the alarm, Hildebrand said.
By 1 p.m., smoke obscured the front of the two-story home.
Firefighters climbed to the porch roof with a ladder to blast the flames with a hose during an attack in which they also broke windows and yanked off siding.
Fire hit a home in Sugarloaf Township this afternoon. At least 7 fire companies have answered the alarm. pic.twitter.com/HT6BKefX7l
— Kent Jackson (@kjaax) November 1, 2016
The bucket of the aerial ladder of the Hazle Township Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company set firefighters on the main roof where they cut holes with a chain saw.
Hildebrand said the fire started downstairs but raced up the wall, adding to the difficulties of fighting the fire in the old home.
He doubts that the home, which Luzerne County tax records say is the property of Nancy Larock Gabala, will be habitable any time soon.
Volunteer firefighters responded from several companies, including Sugarloaf Township, Hazle Township, Valley Regional, Hobbie, West Hazleton, Nuremberg-Weston, Nescopeck, Harwood, Freeland and the Fearnots of Foster Township. At least 40 volunteers joined the effort.
Our Emergency Response Vehicle off to the scene of a home fire in Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County to assist one person displaced. pic.twitter.com/S7t3sA7Ouk
— RedCross NortheastPA (@RedCross_NEPA) November 1, 2016
They set up a portable pond on the lawn. Ambulances from Sugarloaf Township, Weatherly and Valley Regional stood by, although no firefighters suffered injuries, Hildebrand said.
At the pond of the Holy Dormition Monastery on Route 93 in Sugarloaf Township, about 2.5 miles east of the home, another fire engine sprayed water while priming its pump and standing by in case tanker trucks needed refills for the fire.
The flames were out by 1:30 p.m. and emergency personnel remained on the scene until 4:30.
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