May 31, 2006 By Jenny Susa 2 min read

LUZERNE TWP. – State police Fire Marshal William Large ruled arson as the cause of a fire in a vacant mobile home in Tower Hill 2 early Tuesday morning that injured a Tower Hill 2 firefighter. Large said a report would be sent to Luzerne police that included the specifics of the incident. While Luzerne Police Chief Roy Mehalik said he had not yet received the report as of Tuesday afternoon, he confirmed that a mobile home located at 609 Walnut St. caught fire at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday.

“I believe the house was empty because the people had moved out, but they still had some belongings there,” said Mehalik.

He explained that he was off-duty at the time of the fire, and he did not see any state police on the scene when he arrived.

A Tower Hill 2 firefighter reported on the injury of another firefighter from his department. He said that although the firefighter was wearing all of his protective gear, the heat of the flames caused him first-degree burns on his face and ears.

The firefighter also reported that although the mobile home was still standing, it was “heavily gutted” by the fire.

Adah, Allison 2, Isabella and LaBelle fire departments also assisted with fighting the fire.

Mehalik said that until he received the fire marshal’s report, no further details would be available about the arson.