Pocono News Section

Woman Escaped Scranton House Fire

Woman Escaped Scranton House Fire - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 5:00PM EST

Reported by: David DeCosmo
Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008 @05:00pm EST

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY- A Scranton woman is lucky to be alive after fire ripped through her home in the Hill Section of the city.

The alarm from 810 Colfax Avenue in Scranton came in just before 8 a.m. Wednesday morning and firemen were on the scene within three minutes. The initial call included an alert that a woman might be trapped upstairs.

Scranton Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Jack Davis described the scene. "We arrived on scene and found the woman at the front door. Heavy smoke was coming out of the building. We called for an extra company. We opened a hydrant and laid into the fire with one of our trucks and just put the fire out fast."

The woman inside was taken to the hospital just to be checked. The fire was confined to an upstairs bedroom with some extending into the attic. But officials tell us this could have been a lot worse. An oxygen tank was being used in the room when the fire started and that could easily have fueled the flames.

Scranton Fire Inspector Jack Joyce explained "What the oxygen will do, it will enhance it. It will basically enhance the fire. It will fuel it. The oxygen just makes it all that more intense."

Fire inspectors have already ruled the blaze as accidental.