Pa. Family Rescued From Roof of Burning Home

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Nov. 30--A neighbor saw flames and smoke coming from an East Chestnut Street home and those living inside half of the duplex standing in their pajamas on a porch roof Wednesday morning.

Hazleton Deputy Fire Chief Brian Mandak said the unknown neighbor ran toward the home at 219 E. Chestnut with a ladder and was beginning to hoist it to a porch roof to the five to six people waiting for help as emergency responders arrived at the scene a little after 6 a.m., about two minutes after numerous calls were placed to Luzerne County 911.

City firefighters and police officers used the ladder to lead the residents to safety. Mandak said Officer Gerald Tray braced the ladder at the sidewalk while Officer Michael Colasurdo scaled it to help the fire victims down.

First on the scene from the fire department was Deputy Chief Shawn Jones, who was off duty but lives close by, Mandak said.

Seven of the 10 residents living in the home were taken to hospitals for smoke inhalation, including a woman who appeared to be in her 70s who was flown to a regional hospital.

Abimael Valentine, 22, pointed to a front bedroom window on the second floor of the home, saying he awoke to smoke in the bedroom. Valentine said he couldn't see due to all the smoke but managed to break open the window so he and others inside the home could climb to the porch roof.

Mandak said as firefighters arrived smoke was coming out of windows on the second floor and the front door.

They worked quickly.

"It happened so fast ... people off the roof, people going to the hospital and the fire out in like five, six minutes," he said.

There were numerous smoke detectors in the home but only one working device, which woke the residents up.

"Thank God for one working smoke detector," Fire Chief Donald Leshko said. Leshko held one of the disconnected fire alarms in his hands, pointing out that a battery was in the device and that it worked, but didn't sound because the battery was disconnected.

The home's kitchen sustained fire and smoke damage and the rest of the home had smoke damage. The home is a rental property, and the landlord was on scene later in the morning, Mandak said. The landlord said the property was insured and that he would make arrangements to board the building up, as no one will be allowed back inside until repairs are made, Mandak said.

The other half of the duplex at 217 E. Chestnut was not damaged, Mandak said, nor were other neighboring properties.

Next-door neighbors at 223 E. Chestnut, Edward Rodriguez, 22, and Sara Jimenez, 21, said they awoke to the sound of fire engines coming down the street and worried for their home and their neighbors. Both stood with Valentine on a sidewalk near the fire-damaged home as firefighters and a state police fire marshal investigated what caused the blaze.

The fire was ruled accidental later Wednesday morning. The cause was determined to be a cooking accident. Mandak said one of the residents was cooking food for lunch at about 5:30 a.m. and left for work, but was unsure if he turned the stove off. That person was not home when the fire broke out, Mandak said.

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