A handicapped couple, both confined to wheelchairs, safely escaped their Old Lycoming Township home late Saturday night when a fire erupted on their front porch at 1932 Laconic St.

“We had to get through a lot of smoke to get out,” Ronnie Wells said as he sat in his wheelchair outside his home, which is just a block north of the township-city line.

His wife Deborah, who was upstairs, heard a loud bang and saw flames through a window on the porch about 10:50 p.m., Wells said.

“My bedroom is on the first floor. I was almost asleep when my wife yelled to me, asking if I saw the fire on the porch,” Wells said.

“She heard a big boom. It could have been our propane tank on the porch. I don’t know what happened, he added.

After Deborah came down the stairwell in a stairchair, the couple made their way out through a doorway on the east side of the house. “I made her go out first, and then I was right behind her,” Wells said, adding “We had to wait a few minutes before going down our ramp, until the firemen put out the fire.”

Firefighters from the city and township were on the scene within minutes. Lycoming Regional police Patrolman BrianYost hit the flames with a portable extinquisher.

A second alarm was ordered, bringing additional resources from Loyalsock, DuBoistown, Hepburn Township and Montoursville. The fire was declared under control in about 30 minutes.

Both Ronnie Wells and his wife were taken to UPMC Williamport to be evaluated as a precautionary measure, Lycoming Regional police Sgt. Robert Cochran said. One cat and two birds perished in the fire, but another cat and a dog made it out, he added.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. The local chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the two fire victims.

Firefighters were successful in stopping the blaze from reaching the 1934 side of the duplex, township Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Hope said Sunday morning.

The Wells rent the home and have insurance, but the name of the landlord was not available, Hope said.

He said the fire appears to have started on the front porch and extended into the living room. A state police fire marshal was expected to visit the scene Sunday, Hope added. Despite damage in excess of $50,000, the home can certainly be repaired, he said.