Officials: Cooking accident likely cause of fire
BY AMANDA CHRISTMAN (STAFF WRITER)Published: February 23, 2011
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ERIC CONOVER/Staff Photographer State police Fire Marshal Cpl. Shawn Hilbert, right, investigated a fire that occured at at 336-338 E. Beech St. on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, Hilbert and other Hazleton fire department officials surveyed to scene and determined that the cause of the fire was a kitchen accident.
A fire that chased two Hazleton families from a duplex into the chilly night air Monday likely was caused by a cooking accident, according to investigators.
The fire ripped through 338 E. Beech St., leaving the home heavily damaged. Flames also damaged the second floor and attic in the other half of the home at 336 E. Beech St.
On Tuesday, Hazleton firefighters and state police Fire Marshal Cpl. Shawn Hilbert surveyed the damage in the home.
Hazleton Deputy Fire Chief Brian Mandak said based on the investigation so far, they believe the fire began when someone was cooking with oil in a pot at 338 E. Beech. The fire reached the kitchen cabinets and spread through the home from there, Mandak said.
Steam rolled off parts of the building as the investigation continued Tuesday morning and ice covered the sidewalk and the front steps. Brown icicles dangled from window frames, the eaves and inside of 338 Beech St.
Pink lace curtains inside an open second-floor windows on the front of the 336 side blew in the breeze.
Mandak was unsure of the name of the family who lives at 338 E. Beech St. but said six people were in the home when the fire began. Fire Chief Donald Leshko said he believed those taken to the hospital from the fire Monday night were released.
Thomas Sartori Jr., 37, who lives at 336 E. Beech St., with his parents, Thomas Sr. and Charlotte, said he was watching television Monday night when he heard an explosion and then saw smoke coming from an inside wall.
On Tuesday, he was angry at his next-door neighbors, alleging the fire began because the neighbors use kerosene to heat the home. However, Mandak said investigators found no evidence of kerosene heaters in the home.
The Sartoris made it out of the building and are temporarily staying at a local hotel. Thomas Sartori Sr. said the family lived at the home for about 37 years and spent between $180,000 and $200,000 on repairs and upgrades over the years. He said an insurance adjuster was expected at the home Tuesday.
Mandak said it was hard to say how much water was used to fight the fire, but added that at one point, firefighters using six hose lines poured 800 gallons per minute on the flames.
One firefighter sustained a minor shoulder injury, Mandak said.
Two boys and two girls were on the porch roof screaming for help while fire was coming out of the front door when Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Jones arrived at the scene. The four, who appeared to be in their teens, jumped to a neighbor's roof to get to safety, Jones said.
Lisa Gonzalez, who lives across the street, also was watching television when she heard screams coming from outside around 7 p.m. When she looked out her window she saw the home engulfed in flames.
"It was so terrible," Gonzalez said.
She said a boy at the home was dangling from a rear second-floor window and dropped to safety once the flames got too close.
"I said, 'You know what, God was with you,'" Gonzalez told the boy.
She said the people living at 338 E. Beech moved in last year and kept to themselves. Gonzalez was also unaware of their names. When she looked at the damage under the morning sun Tuesday, Gonzalez said she felt terrible about the fire-ravaged home.
The fire, Mandak said, was extinguished within 30 minutes but firefighters remained on scene until about 11:30 p.m. to check for hot spots in the walls.
Assistance
Hazleton's four engines and three ladder trucks were called out Monday night, Mandak said. Two Hazleton police officers responded to the scene and helped firefighters drag hoses off fire apparatus to fight the flames, Mandak said. The Hazleton Streets Department also came to the area to apply salt on streets after hose water had frozen, Mandak said.
Several minutes after Hazleton firefighters staged at the home on Each Beech Street in the south side of the city, the department was dispatched to another report of a fire on West Diamond Avenue on the north side of Hazleton, Mandak said.
At that point, West Hazleton and Hazle Township fire companies were called to move into two of Hazleton's stations and man them, in the event of another emergency. Leshko said McAdoo Fire Co. also was called in to assist.
He said Hazleton's three engines were pumping water at the Beech Street fire and two ladder trucks were being used. He said some firefighters and one engine were sent to the Diamond Avenue call, as was the city's third ladder truck, which is new and won't officially be brought into service until today.
McAdoo brought manpower and its ladder truck to Hazleton to help with the Diamond Avenue call, too. Leshko said mutual aid responses don't happen often in Hazleton but with the city's resources tied down on two simultaneous calls, the city department needed assistance.
Mandak said the Diamond Avenue fire was contained to an oil burner.
Hazleton Code Enforcement and Zoning Officer Rick Wech said the property owner called a plumber to fix the problem Tuesday and the person living inside the home voluntarily left Monday night until the burner was fixed.
LMAO Tommy was wrong it was from cooking.
BY AMANDA CHRISTMAN (STAFF WRITER)Published: February 23, 2011
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ERIC CONOVER/Staff Photographer State police Fire Marshal Cpl. Shawn Hilbert, right, investigated a fire that occured at at 336-338 E. Beech St. on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, Hilbert and other Hazleton fire department officials surveyed to scene and determined that the cause of the fire was a kitchen accident.
A fire that chased two Hazleton families from a duplex into the chilly night air Monday likely was caused by a cooking accident, according to investigators.
The fire ripped through 338 E. Beech St., leaving the home heavily damaged. Flames also damaged the second floor and attic in the other half of the home at 336 E. Beech St.
On Tuesday, Hazleton firefighters and state police Fire Marshal Cpl. Shawn Hilbert surveyed the damage in the home.
Hazleton Deputy Fire Chief Brian Mandak said based on the investigation so far, they believe the fire began when someone was cooking with oil in a pot at 338 E. Beech. The fire reached the kitchen cabinets and spread through the home from there, Mandak said.
Steam rolled off parts of the building as the investigation continued Tuesday morning and ice covered the sidewalk and the front steps. Brown icicles dangled from window frames, the eaves and inside of 338 Beech St.
Pink lace curtains inside an open second-floor windows on the front of the 336 side blew in the breeze.
Mandak was unsure of the name of the family who lives at 338 E. Beech St. but said six people were in the home when the fire began. Fire Chief Donald Leshko said he believed those taken to the hospital from the fire Monday night were released.
Thomas Sartori Jr., 37, who lives at 336 E. Beech St., with his parents, Thomas Sr. and Charlotte, said he was watching television Monday night when he heard an explosion and then saw smoke coming from an inside wall.
On Tuesday, he was angry at his next-door neighbors, alleging the fire began because the neighbors use kerosene to heat the home. However, Mandak said investigators found no evidence of kerosene heaters in the home.
The Sartoris made it out of the building and are temporarily staying at a local hotel. Thomas Sartori Sr. said the family lived at the home for about 37 years and spent between $180,000 and $200,000 on repairs and upgrades over the years. He said an insurance adjuster was expected at the home Tuesday.
Mandak said it was hard to say how much water was used to fight the fire, but added that at one point, firefighters using six hose lines poured 800 gallons per minute on the flames.
One firefighter sustained a minor shoulder injury, Mandak said.
Two boys and two girls were on the porch roof screaming for help while fire was coming out of the front door when Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Jones arrived at the scene. The four, who appeared to be in their teens, jumped to a neighbor's roof to get to safety, Jones said.
Lisa Gonzalez, who lives across the street, also was watching television when she heard screams coming from outside around 7 p.m. When she looked out her window she saw the home engulfed in flames.
"It was so terrible," Gonzalez said.
She said a boy at the home was dangling from a rear second-floor window and dropped to safety once the flames got too close.
"I said, 'You know what, God was with you,'" Gonzalez told the boy.
She said the people living at 338 E. Beech moved in last year and kept to themselves. Gonzalez was also unaware of their names. When she looked at the damage under the morning sun Tuesday, Gonzalez said she felt terrible about the fire-ravaged home.
The fire, Mandak said, was extinguished within 30 minutes but firefighters remained on scene until about 11:30 p.m. to check for hot spots in the walls.
Assistance
Hazleton's four engines and three ladder trucks were called out Monday night, Mandak said. Two Hazleton police officers responded to the scene and helped firefighters drag hoses off fire apparatus to fight the flames, Mandak said. The Hazleton Streets Department also came to the area to apply salt on streets after hose water had frozen, Mandak said.
Several minutes after Hazleton firefighters staged at the home on Each Beech Street in the south side of the city, the department was dispatched to another report of a fire on West Diamond Avenue on the north side of Hazleton, Mandak said.
At that point, West Hazleton and Hazle Township fire companies were called to move into two of Hazleton's stations and man them, in the event of another emergency. Leshko said McAdoo Fire Co. also was called in to assist.
He said Hazleton's three engines were pumping water at the Beech Street fire and two ladder trucks were being used. He said some firefighters and one engine were sent to the Diamond Avenue call, as was the city's third ladder truck, which is new and won't officially be brought into service until today.
McAdoo brought manpower and its ladder truck to Hazleton to help with the Diamond Avenue call, too. Leshko said mutual aid responses don't happen often in Hazleton but with the city's resources tied down on two simultaneous calls, the city department needed assistance.
Mandak said the Diamond Avenue fire was contained to an oil burner.
Hazleton Code Enforcement and Zoning Officer Rick Wech said the property owner called a plumber to fix the problem Tuesday and the person living inside the home voluntarily left Monday night until the burner was fixed.
LMAO Tommy was wrong it was from cooking.
