Family escapes unharmed after fire in Georges Twp.
A family of seven escaped unharmed, but lost everything they owned Monday morning in an electrical fire in the house they rented in Georges Township. Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department Chief Raymond Graham said the fire in the two-story sided home at 190 Fox Hollow Road started in the area of the range in the kitchen.
He said Dan Fowler, his wife and their five children lived in the house.
“The family that rented the house lost everything,” Graham said. “A husband, wife and five children.”
He said he was trying Tuesday to determine who owned the house.
Graham credited Assistant Chief Randy Leech with leading the battle against the fire until he arrived.
Volunteer firefighters from Smithfield, Fairchance and Haydentown, and Fairchance EMS responded to the 9:06 a.m. alarm and remained at the scene for about three hours.
Graham said the volunteers were able to “knock down” the fire quickly, but the house was “pretty much a loss.”
The American Red Cross assisted the family. An Allegheny Power crew arrived on the scene to shut off power to the home.
After that fire, the department responded to Masontown to assist with a brush fire, he said.