Pocono News Section

Minersville Fire Ruled Suspicious

Minersville Fire Ruled Suspicious - Monday, October 8, 2007 at 5:44PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Monday, Oct 8, 2007 @05:44pm EST

MINERSVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY - There is new information on a Friday night fire that destroyed a double-block home and damaged several others in Schuylkill County. Investigators now say the blaze in Minersville is being considered suspicious.

Everything was destroyed after the double-block home went up in flames just after 11:00 PM Friday night at 600-602 School Street in Minersville.

Neighbor Ben Crammer was woken up by firefighters.

"Flames were shooting out of this house 20 feet. I thought the transformer was going to go," Crammer said.

While a lifetime of memories still litters the side of the building, investigators are looking into whether the blaze was an accident or not.

"It's horrible to think that people would do something like that, but there are people out there," neighbor Laura Myers said.

Eyewitnesses say one of the main problems firefighters had with Friday's blaze were the streets. They are very narrow and only a few feet wide.

"It was difficult getting the firetrucks down the street. They said it was hard for them to get into the house, the way the structure of the house was built," Myers said.

Fire investigators say besides the building that burned, four other nearby homes also suffered smoke, fire or water damage. Neighbors credit the determination of firefighters, and even mother nature, for not making a bad situation even worse.

"If we'd have had a strong wind, this whole block would have went up," Crammer said.

No one was hurt in Friday night's fire. All of the fire victims are staying with family and friends in Schuylkill County.