April 07--MAHANOY CITY -- The cause of a fire that claimed two lives at an apartment building on the borough's main street early Saturday morning has not been determined.
Flames tore through the building at 329-331 E. Centre St. killing homeowners Morris Seabra, 69, and his wife, Adele, 60.
Morris Seabra was rescued from the second floor of the home, treated by EMS personnel and taken to a Pottsville area hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Adele Seabra was also rescued from the second floor and pronounced dead at the scene by Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner David Truskowsky, Mahanoy City.
A man living on the first floor identified as Edward Droginis was also rescued by firefighters.
Droginis, whose age is not available, was taken to the State Correctional Institute at Mahanoy, placed aboard a MedEvac helicopter and flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, for further treatment.
Droginis' condition was not immediately known but officials said he was conscious and talking when placed aboard the helicopter.
Another man living in the building, Phillip Scott, 38, was not home at the time of the fire, Anthony Blackwell, Mahanoy City Fire Department safety officer, said.
Blackwell said firefighters were called at 1:58 a.m. for a report of a fire with entrapment and, arriving on scene within minutes, found heavy fire in a first-floor foyer and stairwell and heavy smoke through the remainder of the building.
Firefighters confirmed three people were still inside and immediately conducted a search removing Droginis and Morris and Adele Seabra.
After removing the victims, fire crews worked for about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control. At one point, intense fire shot out of all four windows on the third floor of the building, lighting up the night sky.
Blackwell said that due to the smoke conditions, residents in adjoining homes at 327 E. Centre St. and in two apartments at 325 E. Centre St. are temporarily displaced but expected to be able to return to their homes in a few days.
As daylight broke, state police fire marshals Troopers Michael Yeity of Troop L in Reading and Thomas Finn from Troop L in Schuylkill Haven arrived to assist borough fire chief Randy Kalce in trying to determine what sparked the fire.
Yeity said the fire is believed to have started in the foyer area of the 329-331 building where heavy fire was found by responding firefighters.
The exact cause, however, has not yet been determined.
Displaced from the 327 E. Centre St. home, also owned by Morris and Adele Seabra, were Jean Kessler, Matt Rutherford and Kaleb Herder, Blackwell said.
The home at 325 E. Centre St. is owned by DL Realty Concepts and occupied by Paula Sipe, Oksana Sipe and Zachary Sipe on the first floor and Wanda Grutza, Shannon Grutza, Shayla Barkus, Helene Grutza and Kaylie Dougherty on the second floor.
Kalce credited firefighters for their efforts after being met with the intense fire and smoke conditions that they were faced with.
"This was a large, three-story building and I cannot commend our firefighters enough for their life saving efforts and extinguishment of a large volume of fire that was held to one building," he said.
Damage was listed as minor to the homes at 325 and 327 E. Centre St. as well as an unoccupied home at 333 E. Centre St.
Blackwell said the fire buildings sustained major damage.
Yeity said the cause of the fire remains under investigation and additional information will be released as soon as it becomes available.
Copyright 2013 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
