Pa. Firefighter Responds to Fire at His Home

Feb. 12--THROOP -- A Dunmore firefighter found himself headed to his own house Monday morning after flames broke out in the garage of his Dunmore Street home.

Dunmore firefighter Dom Rinaldi started to gear up when he heard the Throop Fire Department's emergency tones on the radio at about 11 a.m. The Dunmore Fire Department automatically assists the Throop Fire Department.

"I was getting my boots on, and I heard my address over the radio," Mr. Rinaldi said.

So he and the rest of the crew climbed into their truck, and Mr. Rinaldi drove it up the O'Neill Highway toward his 728 Dunmore St. home.

As he approached Throop, he noticed a plume of smoke rising ahead of him. "I knew it was going pretty good," he said.

He worried about his two dogs -- Sal, a shepherd-collie mix, and Oliver, a cocker spaniel -- but, as the company's engineer, his job was to establish the water supply.

Throop police Officer Andy Kerecman took care of the dogs, kicking in the front door and walking them out.

"These are great guys here," Mr. Rinaldi said of Officer Kerecman and his Throop and Dunmore colleagues.

Mr. Rinaldi's wife and his 16- and 20-year-old daughters were not home at the time of the fire.

Throop Fire Chief Eric Hartshorn said the fire appeared to have started in the rear of the garage and did not spread into the house.

Still, Mr. Rinaldi said the smoke and water damage to the home could prove a setback for the renovations he has been working on for years. "There's going to be a lot just to get it livable again," Mr. Rinaldi said.

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