Shamokin duplex a ‘total loss’ after fire
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Firefighters battle a blaze at 914-916 North Shamokin Street on July 3, 2020.
SHAMOKIN, Northumberland County – A duplex in this city is destroyed, and one person suffered minor injuries after fire ripped through the building this afternoon.
Shamokin Bureau of Fire firefighters were called to the home at 914 North Shamokin Street around 12:14pm for a structure fire.
“I arrived first, and we had heavy fire involving the first floor of the 914 structure and already extending into the 916 structure,” said Ken Pilkus, deputy chief. “Immediately, we [deployed] lines to protect the 910 structure, which had no damage at the time.”
The duplex at 914-16 and a single home at 910 were separated by a breezeway, which Pilkus said was the early focus, to keep the fire from spreading across the breezeway.
“[910], right now, that we know of, might have exterior damage. There was no damage, to my knowledge at this time, to the interior,” Pilkus said.
The deputy described 914 and 916 as a “total loss.”
All occupants were out of the homes when firefighters arrived, he said, and one suffered a minor injury, the specifics of which he did not know at the time of the interview.
The fire rose to a second alarm with special calls, bringing units from across Northumberland County to the scene, along with units from Columbia and Montour Counties. The Rangers Hose Co. of Girardville was called to cover the borough of Kulpmont.
Fire crews responding included Shamokin, Elysburg, Upper Augusta, Maine – Coal Township, and Catawissa, among others.
Area Services EMS responded to the scene as well.
By about 2:00pm, the bulk of the fire was knocked down and firefighters were extinguishing hotspots.
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