Fire destroys home, vehicles
A garage fire that spread to an adjacent home left the house uninhabitable Thursday morning.
At least 10 fire companies responded to the fire scene, with firefighters struggling to find adequate water to fight the fast-moving blaze.
Fire crews were dispatched to the 500 block of Congo Road at approximately 9:30 a.m. Thursday for a fully-involved fire. The flames had spread from the detached garage located next to the home and quickly engulfed the roof and back portion of the home, according to reports from the scene.
“The lack of water and the heat were really the biggest obstacles here,” said Rick Smith, fire chief of Gilbertsville Fire & Rescue.
Firefighters coped with the lack of water with help from several tankers that were on the scene. EMS personnel stood nearby to assist in case of a medical emergency.
It took firefighters more than an hour to get the fire under control as they worked from truck ladders to douse the blaze from above. Once the fire was put out, crews prodded the home with a fire hook to remove large portions of the charred roof.
Authorities said that three people reside in the home and that the two people who had been home when the fire started managed to make it out safely with no injuries.
According to Smith, one firefighter suffered a head injury and was treated at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center.
Though Smith did not have an exact monetary damage estimate, he stated that the garage adjacent to the home was a total loss and that the family of three is currently unable to live in the home.
Fire officials were working to determine a cause.
Assisting Gilbertsville Fire & Rescue on the scene were Douglass Township Police, The Salvation Army, Boyertown Fire Company, Limerick Fire Company, Bally Ambulance, Linfield Fire Company, Upper Salford Fire Company, Kimberton Fire Company, Upper Frederick Fire Company, Ringing Hill Fire Company, Lower Frederick, Skippack and Sanatoga fire companies.