Nov. 17--Fire destroyed two homes and damaged two others Saturday in the 200 block of East Washington Street in Shenandoah.
Firefighters were called at 11:03 a.m. for a report of a kitchen fire at a home at 204 E. Washington St. and found heavy fire to the rear, already spreading to a home at 206 E. Washington St.
Shenandoah fire marshal Rick Examitas said the fire originated inside the kitchen area of the unoccupied 204 E. Washington St. home and the cause is being listed as undetermined.
He said state police fire marshal Trooper Thomas Finn was at the scene and plans to continue his investigation into the cause of the blaze that took firefighters about 90 minutes to bring under control.
"We're calling it undetermined," Examitas said. "(Finn) can't rule anything out at this point."
Examitas said the unoccupied homes at 204 and 206 E. Washington St. sustained extensive fire damage, as did an unoccupied home at 202 E. Washington St. In addition, a home at 200 E. Washington St. -- occupied by Eugene Jadus, 50, his two daughters and three granddaughters -- had extensive fire damage to the third floor and attic, Examitas said.
Examitas said one borough firefighter was treated and released at a local hospital after falling through steps leading to the second floor of the 204 E. Washington St. home.
Tony Blackwell, of the Mahanoy City Fire Department, who served as safety officer at the scene, said he could give no official comment on cause and origin of the fire, but he indicated the cause seemed suspicious.
"We had fire in a building that should not have had fire," Blackwell said.
Displaced from their corner home at 200 E. Washington St. were Jadus; his daughters, Tiffany, 24, and Kasa, 29, and Kasa's three children, Aysia Forker, 8; Aaliyah Forker, 3, and Alazay Layton, 1.
Standing at the corner of East Washington and Bower streets, Jadus and Kasa watched as firefighters worked to stop the rapidly spreading flames.
"The upstairs is gone," Jadus said, looking toward the second floor where his granddaughters' bedrooms are located.
"All the kids' stuff, all the valuables are gone," Kasa said.
Jadus' home is owned by Ray Witcoski, known locally as "Doc," proprietor of Doc's Masonry contracting business.
Raymond Kendricks lives at 212 E. Washington St. One home, occupied by the Nitolo family, stands between Kendricks' house and the string of vacant structures that were damaged in the fire.
Kendricks' girlfriend, Mary Ellen Dettery, said she and Raymond were getting ready to go to a social event Saturday morning when she smelled smoke.
"We were standing outside when we smelled smoke. Ray went around the back of the house and saw flames shooting out of the back of that house," Dettery said, pointing to the vacant home at 204 E. Washington St.
"I started banging on doors, telling the neighbors there was a fire, and I called 911," Dettery said.
According to neighbors on the block, the vacant homes have long been a source of concern in the neighborhood.
"I've seen people going in and out of those houses," Crissa Nitolo, who lives at 210 E. Washington St., said.
"I always said there's going to be a fire one of these days because there's people going in those empty houses all the time," Crissa's brother, Philip, said.
Philip was home with his mother when the fire broke out.
"My mom said there's a fire. I got dressed and ran around the corner to Bower Street and saw the whole back of 204 was on fire," Phillip said.
His brother, Dominic, was at work in Hazleton when he got a phone call that the vacant house next to his mother's home was on fire.
Dominic is a volunteer firefighter with the Shenandoah Fire Department.
"I was at work when I heard my home address on the pager," Dominic said as he stood outside the smoldering remains dressed in full firefighter turnout gear.
The Nitolo home appeared to have smoke and water damage, but no significant fire damage.
"Just smoke and dirty footprints everywhere," Phillip said, describing the interior of his mother's home.
Jadus was at Home Depot near Pottsville picking up supplies for his job with Doc's Masonry when he got a phone call that his house was on fire.
He said he and Kendricks often used plywood to board up the doors and windows of the vacant houses in an effort to prevent squatters from going inside. But trespassers often broke the barricades down to gain entry to the houses.
"You know people were going in there at night," Jadus said.
Examitas said the occupants of 200 E. Washington St. were provided with temporary housing, food and clothing by the American Red Cross.
Firefighters from Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, Frackville and West Mahanoy Township battled the fire while EMS units from Shenandoah, Frackville, Lost Creek and Mahanoy City were at the scene, as well.
Shenandoah police are assisting in the investigation and borough fire police assisted with traffic and crowd control.
The Burger King on South Main Street provided more than 100 hamburgers to the firefighters, who spent most of the afternoon clearing the scene.
Copyright 2013 - Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
