Three escape burning historical home in Williamsport
Flames and smoke shoot through the building's roof. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Flames and smoke shoot through the building's roof.PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
At the command post, city Fire Chief Sam Aungst, center; DuBoistown Fire Chief Paul McKinley, left and city Platoon Chief Kevin Hurne. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Exhausted firefighters rest and get hydrated. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
A very tight fit for firefighters on this truck. The apparatus had to come down this very narrow street, Ames Place, to reach the fire. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Flames and smoke shoot through the building's roof. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Flames and smoke shoot through the building's roof.PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
At the command post, city Fire Chief Sam Aungst, center; DuBoistown Fire Chief Paul McKinley, left and city Platoon Chief Kevin Hurne. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Exhausted firefighters rest and get hydrated. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
A very tight fit for firefighters on this truck. The apparatus had to come down this very narrow street, Ames Place, to reach the fire. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
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WILLIAMSPORT- Awakened by smoke alarms, Robert Steppe and his wife, Ruth, along with his cousin all escaped through the front door when fire broke out at the back of their property at 312-316 Campbell St. Williamsport, about 1:15 a m. Saturday.
The couple have owned the building for 25 years. It was built in the mid 1860s, Steppe said. The couple’s four cats perished in the fire.
Arriving on the scene, city firefighters had a very difficult time getting hoses to the fire because the entire back of the structure is enshrouded with trees and brush. Overhead powerlines also were a concern.
“Access to the fire was a major problem for us,” city Fire Chief Sam Aungst, in charge at the scene, said.
A second alarm for more equipment and manpower from several communities was ordered at 1:20 a.m. followed by a third alarm at 1:46 a.m. and a fourth alarm at 2:01 a.m. Aungst placed the fire under control just after 3 a.m.
There were no injuries, Aungst said. The local chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the three displaced residents.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.