Flames destroy Menallen Twp. house
MENALLEN TWP. – A fire destroyed a two-story home at 513 Upper Middletown Road Tuesday afternoon. No one was home when the fire started around 2:15 p.m. No one was injured at the scene, said Ed Kutek, second assistant chief of the New Salem Volunteer Fire Department.
Jeannette Podlogar lived in the home with her two children, according to several neighbors.
Heat from the fire damaged siding on an adjacent home and gusty winds carried heat and sparks from the hilltop house to a nearby hillside along the road to Alta Villa Estates, igniting a small brush fire.
Neighbors living across the street said they feared heat from the fire would damage their homes.
Kutek said state police fire marshals would investigate to determine the cause of the fire.
Firefighters from the Smock, West Leisenring, Uniontown and North Union Township departments responded to the fire and remained at the scene through late afternoon.