Girardville fire chief rescues man from burning triplex
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Girardville Fire Chief Frank Zangari, right, converses with Shenandoah firefighter Mark Hysock at the scene of a structure fire in Girardville on June 16, 2020.
GIRARDVILLE – A man was rescued from his burning home in the center of a triplex Tuesday evening in this borough.
Firefighters from across northern Schuylkill and southern Northumberland Counties were called to the 300 block of North Second Street in Girardville for the structure fire.
Chief Frank Zangari was among the first on scene.
“The resident was still in the [home] when I arrived,” Zangari said. “The house was completely filled with smoke, including the front porch.”
Zangari said he entered the home to try to rescue the man, who was scrambling to get out through the smoke.
“He was swinging, trying to get out through the smoke. Knocked the two of us down on the ground,” Zangari said. “When I picked him up and brought him out onto the porch, we both fell again.”
The two were okay and made it out fine.
“He said he left oil on the stove and he fell asleep,” Zangari said, citing that as the cause of the fire. “The fire went up the rear side of the building, and extended into the buildings on the right and the left.”
Zangari commended the response by all first responders at the scene.
“I know a lot of them are tired from the Gilberton incident,” Zangari said. “Outstanding. Can’t ask for better than what we got for a response.”
No injuries were reported, Zangari said, and the homeowner will stay with family.
The only occupied home, 341,, he said, was the home in the center of the triplex, noting the two homes on either side have been vacant for years.
Two challenges were presented to firefighters, Zangari said, which dealt with the fire’s location and establishing a water supply. The fire was located on a dead-end street, he said, and water supplies were secured from as far as Main Street.
Firefighters from Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, Ashland, Englewood, William Penn, and Mount Carmel, among others, responded to the scene to assist Girardville along with Shenandoah, Frackville, and Girardville EMS.
Crews remained on scene past 10:00pm cleaning up and dousing hotspots until about 11:00pm.
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