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HAZLETON – Hazleton Fire Department officials hope to discover today how a Christmas Eve fire that displaced three people got started, Deputy Fire Chief Brian Mandak said.
He said the department is working with the state fire marshal’s office to investigate the blaze.
The fire, which broke out about 8:30 p.m. Monday, started on the second floor of 559 Cleveland St. at East 3rd Street and spread to the attic and the home at 557 Cleveland St., Mandak said.
“When we got there the flames were showing from the second floor and a small spot in the rear roof,” he said.
Two of the people displaced living at 559 and one living at 557 stayed with family members Monday night, Mandak said.
The first floor of 559 Cleveland suffered smoke and water damage, but 557’s first floor was spared from the damage because firefighters were able to quickly put up tarps protecting the home’s inside.
WILKES-BARRE – Nathan Sompel, 24, of West Pittston, reported 6:01 a.m. Wednesday someone damaged the tires on his vehicle while it was parked at 48 Oak St.
HAZLETON – Three women were transported to Hazleton General Hospital after a two-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon, state trooper Kevin Jancewicz said.
Kimberly A. Whitmer, 35 of Freeland, was headed northbound on state Route 93, just past Deer Run Road and Arby’s Restaurant, when she lost control of the vehicle about 2:47 p.m. and crossed the center median before striking the vehicle of Emily C. Panco, 60, of Hazleton, Jancewicz said.
Panco had to be extricated from the 2006 Mazda Tribute she was driving because “the door was pinched” shut, Jancewicz said. Patrice Bogaczyk, 53, of Nanticoke, was a passenger in Panco’s vehicle.
All three women suffered minor injuries.