Thursday, July 7, 2011

Tamaqua Fire

It was just a sad morning.  There is no other way to describe it.

Two double homes on South Lehigh Street in Tamaqua went up in flames early Tuesday morning.  A third double home, the one on the far right of this photo, has heavy damage.  It can be saved.

11 people lost their homes, and everything inside.  Some lost pets.  There's a support network in place  The Red Cross and Salvation Army in the Tamaqua area are very active.  Many of the victims told me they are thankful they have family in town.

No one was hurt, and that is a miracle in and of itself.  3 AM fires are always frightening.  The fire chief says police officers helped wake up sleeping residents and get them to safety.  The fire was moving fast.  Seconds count.

There is always a moment or two, on stories like this, that you take home with you.  I talked with a man who lost one of his dogs, a pet he believes traveled upstairs to be with his master, when the home filled with smoke.  The man made it out.  The dog didn't.  I told the fire victim that, when he's ready and back on his feet, animal shelters are filled with dogs that need good homes.  He already knew that.  One of his dogs was a shelter rescue.  He'll visit a shelter when the time is right.

There are no happy endings on a story like this, but you do hope the fire victims recover as quickly and as painlessly as possible.