Pocono News Section

Vacant College-Owned House Damaged by Fire

Vacant College-Owned House Damaged by Fire - Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 4:41PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 @ 04:41pm EST
Williamsport, Lycoming County-

Just days after some local college students move out of their home, it catches on fire.

Investigators are now saying last night's fire was accidental and electrical in nature.

And one neighbor is calling his dog a hero, after the pooch alerted his family to the flames.

Investigators say the blaze at this Lycoming College-owned house on Ross Street was started by a fan left running. The tenants were students at Lycoming who moved out over the weekend. Firefighters quickly doused the blaze, which caused about $50,000 in damages.

Neighbor Russell Heckert recalled, "When I walked down in front of the house, I just could see in the front window, and I could see through to the window that's on the far side of the house, and I could see flames in there."

Heckert lives two houses down, with his parents, who are handicapped. He says his nine-year-old Pekingese, Casey, alerted him to the blaze, after which he immediately dialed 9-1-1. "He started acting really weird and was barking and carrying on, and he ended up upstairs barking out of my mom's window," Heckert added.

Heckert is thankful for Casey's keen sense of smell, which along with the speedy response of firefighters, may have saved his family's lives. He explained, "The wind was blowing this way. And if somebody wouldn't have seen that, this house could've gone up real easily, and then my parents house right here."

Thankfully no one was hurt in this fire.

Lycoming College representatives say they will bring in a construction firm to check the structural integrity of the building before deciding how to proceed.