Flames destroy Lavelle home
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Firefighters battle a blaze in Lavelle Thursday morning.
LAVELLE – Fire ripped through and destroyed a home in this Butler Township village Thursday morning.
Firefighters were called to the home at 38 High Road around 6:30pm.
Heavy smoke could be seen from the Lavelle Fire Co. and reportedly as far as Mount Carmel, and a second alarm was struck while volunteers were still headed to their stations.
Crews arrived to find the home fully involved, with flames rising high into the sky.
Among the first on scene was Lavelle Fire Co. Capt. Jeremy Smallwood, who said crews had to cut open a gate to access the scene.
Russ Hummel, Lavelle fire chief, said a third alarm was struck to bring additional manpower to the scene.
The home is a tenth of a mile from High Road via a gravel driveway, which made accessing the scene and establishing a water supply difficult.
The bulk of the fire was knocked down within about 40 minutes, and mutual aid crews, with the exception of Girardville, Gordon, and Mount Carmel, were clear shortly after.
Also assisting at the scene were firefighters from Englewood, Ashland, Atlas, South Cass, and more.
No injuries were reported, and no one was home at the time of the fire.
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