David L. Dye
The Herald
GREENVILLE, Pa. — A Greenville man escaped the fire that engulfed his home Monday morning, while first responders battled both the blaze and stinging insects.
Charles Hodge, 53, said he was alone sleeping when his smoke alarm went off around 5 a.m. He realized immediately there was a fire – he had difficulty breathing and thick black smoke forced him to crawl on his hands and knees to get outside, he said.
About five to ten minutes later, Hodge said, the windows exploded.
“If I had been there five to ten more minutes, I wouldn’t have been able to get out,” Hodge said.
Firefighters were called to the fire at 79 N. Race St. at 5:18 a.m. Four Greenville firefighters responded, along with volunteers from West Salem and Hempfield townships, said Greenville Lt. Mike Cadman. Also at the scene were members of Mercer’s Rapid Intervention Team, which is always requested in case firefighters become trapped in a burning building, Cadman said.
“The fire was pretty well involved when we got there,” Cadman said. “We believe it was an accidental electrical fire.”
While the fire was bad enough, the flames, the smoke and the firefighters trying to knock down the blaze disturbed a large stinging insect nest under the siding in the wall right next to the front door, Cadman said.
Once firefighters began trying to gain entry to the house, the insects were knocked loose and began to swarm. “We had a couple firefighters get stung, but it was nothing serious,” Cadman said.
“Once I saw the yellow jackets I stayed pretty clear,” Hodge said.
Firefighters moved to the side doors to avoid further threats of being stung and had the blaze knocked down by 5:37 a.m.; they cleared the scene two hours later, Cadman said.
Hodge said a state police fire marshal told him an electrical outlet strip behind the entertainment center and TV may have become overheated, began to melt and short-circuited before catching fire.
“He said he had seen it many times,” Hodge said. “He said that’s what happens when you buy the dollar store ones.”
Though Hodge was not injured, the house he was renting was declared a total loss. Only a small tote of possessions was spared from the fire, so Hodge was being assisted by the Red Cross to help him with lodging and clothes, he said. Hodge said he has renter’s insurance but it is insufficient to cover his losses.
Kim and Roger Chess of Greenville own the house and have insurance on it, Cadman said.
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