South Jardin blaze displaces five
SUBMITTED - Flames escape the rear of a home at 222 South Jardin Street in Shenandoah on June 27, 2019.
By Kaylee Lindenmuth | [email protected]
SHENANDOAH – Five people were taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and will be displaced from their home after flames tore through the rear of a row home on Shenandoah’s south side Thursday morning.
Firefighters were dispatched to 222 South Jardin Street for reports of a house fire in a row home around 5:30am. At the time of dispatch, a significant smoke column could be seen from several blocks away on the west end.”We were dispatched to the call for a structure fire with possible entrapment,” said fire marshal Rick Examitas. “Upon arrival, we found heavy fire at the back of the residence.
Examitas said three homes were damaged in the blaze, which brought firefighters from as far as Nuremberg to the scene as part of a second alarm assignment. The majority of the damage was contained to 222 South Jardin Street, with minor damage to adjoining properties on either side.
Two children and three adults who lived in 222 — Tina Wynn, 30; Zachary Teter, 29; Jennine Teter, 48; a 10-year-old boy, and a 10-year old girl — are being assisted by the American Red Cross, Examitas added.
“Smoke alarms could’ve played a big role in this,” Examitas said, noting that’s how he believed the residents of 222 were alerted of the blaze, though he had yet to interview the residents to confirm.
A state police fire marshal was called in to investigate the blaze, and the cause was ruled accidental, electrical in nature, Examitas said. He added the fire originated from the second floor rear bedroom.
No firefighters were injured in the blaze.
The fire was contained within an hour or so, with out-of-town units clearing by 7:00am.
“Our guys went into an aggressive attack, it worked out real well and knocked the fire down,” said Examitas. “Everything worked well with our neighboring towns that helped us out.”
Assisting Shenandoah’s five fire companies at the scene were firefighters from Mahanoy City’s Citizens, Washington, and West End, Nuremberg-Weston, Ringtown Valley, Shenandoah Heights, and Englewood, among others. Also on scene were crews from Shenandoah Ambulance and Ashland.
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