Cold hampers efforts to fight morning fire
HILLER – Volunteer firefighters from several area fire companies battled frigid temperatures and burgeoning flames at a fire early Thursday that destroyed a mobile home in Hiller.
No one was injured as a result of the blaze that broke out at the home on Luzerne Street shortly after 5 a.m. Hiller fire Chief Scott Dolan said that firefighters worked on a rotation to try and stay warm after the flames engulfed the home.
“The coldness was a major concern,” Dolan said. “When it is 5 degrees, it is very difficult to keep your manpower safe.”
Dolan said Labelle volunteer firefighters brought a torpedo heater to the scene to help warm the firefighters who were reporting that their breathing tanks were freezing to their bunker gear.
“We had packs freezing to the suits, hoses freezing – it was cold,” Dolan said.
Dolan said that the state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire and has said that the fire is “suspicious in nature.”
Initial reports said that someone might be trapped in the house, but Dolan said crews conducted a search of the residence and found no one.
Only the shell of the building was left standing.
One firefighter was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, Dolan said.
According to Fayette County 911, volunteer firefighters from Hiller, Tower Hill 2, Brownsville and South Brownsville battled the blaze.