'I just screamed,' neighbor says about seeing Shenandoah fire; 14 displaced, 5 homes damaged
Nov. 29—SHENANDOAH — A fire late Sunday in the borough damaged five homes and left 14 people homeless.
Firefighters were called to the 200 block of East Coal Street just after 11:30 p.m. for a report of a structure fire and were met by flames shooting from the second-floor front windows at 213 E. Coal St.
After battling the flames for about 90 minutes, firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control, but not before it destroyed that home and one at 211 E. Coal St.
Also severely damaged was a home at 215 E. Coal St., with less damage reported at 209 and 217 E. Coal St.
State police fire investigators Troopers Joseph Hall and John Burns were at the scene Monday morning assisting Shenandoah fire officials in trying to determine where and how the fire started.
Shenandoah Fire Chief Rick Examitas said the blaze is believed to have started in the front second-floor room at 213 E. Coal St., which is where investigators concentrated their efforts.
The exact cause, he said, has not been determined.
Patty Daley, disaster captain of the American Red Cross Tri-County Chapter, said Monday that the Red Cross was assisting two families — one with one adult and three children, the other with three adults.
She also said the Red Cross is also looking for two other families to see if they need help.
The home at 209 E. Coal St. was occupied by Ray Wisnewski, while the home at 211 E. Coal St. was occupied by Bernie Morris.
The home at 217 E. Coal St. was occupied by two adults and three children, neighbors said.
Morris was not home at the time of the fire, while Wisnewski was able to escape during the early stages of the blaze.
Morris said he was hunting at a cabin in Centre County when he got a telephone call telling him his house was on fire.
Morris said relatives drove to Centre County and brought him back to Shenandoah, where he saw what once was the home he has lived in since 1971.
"I was told it was a total loss," Morris said standing on the street across from his home.
He hoped to retrieve personal items such as family pictures, important papers, his gun collection and anything else he can salvage.
Lisa Keppel lives several homes away, at 201 E. Coal St., with her husband, Gary Keppel.
They were awakened when Lisa Keppel noticed a glow coming from the windows of a vehicle parked across the street and she investigated.
"I came out and saw fire everywhere coming from those windows," she said. "I just screamed."
Gary Keppel called the Schuylkill County 911 Center to report the fire but was told multiple calls were already received.
Keppel said he and his wife then began banging on doors to make sure anyone who was home got out safely.
Everyone was able to do that, he said.
"That's what's important," he said. "No one was hurt or killed."
The fire initially brought crews from Shenandoah and surrounding communities while a second alarm, struck a short time later, brought additional resources from additional areas of the county.
