Fire damages Butler Township home
May 14—LAVELLE — Fire destroyed a home in Butler Township early Thursday morning.
Lavelle Fire Company Capt. Jeremy Smallwood said firefighters were called to 36 High Road around 6:25 a.m. and found the large home at the end of a gravel driveway engulfed in flames.
He said the heavy smoke could be seen from the fire station, prompting the calling of a second alarm.
"It was a defensive operation from the start; we used heavy appliances and did not send anyone inside," he said. "It was fully involved."
Due to the location of the home, it took some time to establish a water supply, Smallwood said.
Large-diameter hoses were attached to fire engines on High Road about one-tenth of a mile from the blazing structure.
The captain said the fire was brought under control in about 40 minutes but crews remained on the scene for several hours.
Lavelle Fire Chief Russ Hummel said he called for a third alarm to bring tankers to the scene in the event more water would be needed.
"I called for the tankers just in case," he said. "It was a surround-and-drown operation."
Hummel said no one was home at the time and that state police fire marshal Trooper John Burns of the Frackville station was called to help determine where and how the blaze started. The chief said no injuries were reported.
High Road and parts of Main Street were temporarily shut down.
Firefighters from Lavelle, Gordon, Ashland, Mount Carmel, Atlas, Girardville and South Cass Township responded, along with the Englewood Fire Company Rapid Intervention Team.
Hummel praised the amount of firefighters that responded, despite the alarm sounding when many people are getting ready or leaving for work.
"We had a good turnout and it showed," he said.
