Flames Ravage Walnut St. House
Three adults and a 7-year-old boy safely escaped a burning home at 12 E. Walnut St., Hughesville about 6:15 a.m. last Friday, according to borough Fire Chief Steve Stiger.
The home was rented to Shannon Barto, who lived there with two men and a boy, whose names Stiger did not know.
“They woke up smelling smoke and got out,” Stiger said.
Flames were shooting from the second floor when volunteer firefighters first arrived on the scene.
“Two attack crews (of firefighters) took hoses through the front door, and a third crew took one through the back door. Most of the fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes,” Stiger said.
A state police fire marshal investigated the fire scene, but the cause of the blaze remained under investigation. “It’s not suspicious,” Stiger said, who believed the home was a total loss.
“Most of the fire damage occurred on the second floor. There was water damage on the first floor,” Stiger said.
Barto and the other tenants had fire insurance as did the owner, Jeff Boyer of Muncy Township, Stiger said.
About 50 firefighters from the borough, Picture Rocks, Pennsdale, Clarkstown and Muncy responded to the blaze.
The local chapter of the American Red Cross was providing emergency shelter and assistance to the displaced tenants.