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HUNLOCK TWP. — Crews battled a blaze that ripped through a residence believed to be abandoned Monday afternoon.
A supervisor from Luzerne County 911 said that crews were dispatched to the residence at 139 Hartman’s Road at 2:08 p.m. for a working structure fire. Chris Wrubel, assistant chief for Hunlock Creek Volunteer Fire Company, said crews arrived to find heavy flames and smoke coming from the residence.
Crews worked in the hot afternoon sun battling the blaze. Flames were visible from some parts of the residence as crews doused the building with water. Some trees and nearby foliage were also scorched.
Wrubel said that crews were able to contain the fire to the structure itself within a few minutes.
Wrubel said the fire was classified as a second alarm due to the heat and to enable responders to rotate to battle the blaze. Crews from neighboring municipalities were called in to fight the blaze, along with EMS units. He also said those rotations were critical due to the heat of the day, along with the heat from the fire.
“We’re trying to get them rotated as much as we can,” Wrubel said. He added that three ambulances were on the scene to examine firefighters and get them back to battling the blaze. “They seem to be holding up. We haven’t had any issues yet.”
Wrubel said the residence was classified as abandoned, but he could not rule out the possibility of someone entering the structure and causing the blaze. He added that the fire does not appear to be suspicious at this time, but said that crews have been coordinating their investigation with the fire marshal.
“Until we get a better look, I can’t say otherwise,” Wrubel said.
