Fire damages family home
By TARA MAGUIRE Sentinel reporter tmaguire@lewistownsentinel.comArticle Photos
MOUNT UNION - An afternoon fire destroyed one house and damaged two others Sunday afternoon, leaving at least one area family without a home.
Mount Union Assistant Fire Chief Tim Allison said units were dispatched at 2:33 p.m. to a residential fire at 17 E. Vandevender St. in Mount Union.
"I was the first one on scene, and when I got there the home was fully engulfed," Allison said.
Allison said the occupants - a husband, a wife and two children - were not home at the time and that a neighbor reported the fire to dispatchers.
Allison declined to release the identities of the homeowners.
The unidentified homeowners were not the only ones affected by the blaze. The adjacent home at 19 E. Vandevender St. also received moderate damage as a result of the blaze, Allison said.
"Fire was coming out of the windows and everything," he said.
Allison also said that as a precaution, neighboring residents were evacuated until the fire was completely put out.
"Both neighbors were asked to leave their homes, just as a safety precaution ... the guy's home that received the most damage, and the same with the lady on the other side, who only received minor smoke damage," he said.
Allison declined to comment on a possible cause of the fire.
"With the extent of damage, I don't really want to guess on where the fire actually started," Allison said.
He said a fire marshall will conduct a full investigation, but he was unsure when a press release would be issued.
Allison said representatives of The American Red Cross arrived on scene and they were offering all of the homeowners affected by the fire some kind of assistance.
"I know that the guy whose house was slightly damaged was put up in a motel for the night, but I can't say for sure if the family is receiving any assistance," he said.
Allison said that units were on scene until approximately 5:30 p.m. securing the area and making sure the fire was completely out.
"It's just a wooden structure now - completely totaled. It's still standing, but it's completely unsound," Allison said.
Units that responded on scene were: Mount Union Fire Co., Mill Creek Fire Co., Newton Wayne Fire Co., Three Springs Volunteer Fire Co., Petersburg Volunteer Fire Co., Huntingdon Fire Co., Orbisonia-Rockhill Fire Co., Smithfield Volunteer Fire Co., McVeytown Volunteer Fire Co., Highland Park Hose Co., Brooklyn Fire Co., Allensville Fire Co., Fame EMS, McVeytown Ambulance and Mount Union EMS.
