2-alarm fire damages Robeson Township home
A two-alarm fire gutted a Robeson Township home Friday night and left a firefighter hospitalized.
Crews were called to 371 Rock Hollow Road about 9:40 p.m. for a report of a chimney fire.
When Geigertown Fire Company Chief Scott Gullo arrived, he saw smoke pouring out of the roof of the single family home and the orange glow of fire behind the home’s windows, he said Saturday.
The smoke was so thick, Gullo said, it was hard to see the home from the street.
Shortly after firefighters arrived a window at the rear of the house broke, and the flood of oxygen through it into the home fan the flames into a fullblown structure fire, Gullo said.
A second alarm was called about 30 minutes into the firefighting, largely for water supply, Gullo said. The home is in a rural area with no fire hydrants, making tanker trucks necessary.
Crews from Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties responded.
Gullo said that as firefighters initially approached the house, he heard the distinct sound of ammunition exploding and ricocheting off metal. He briefly called his crews back while 50 to 60 rounds, heated by the flames, went off.
“It stopped pretty quickly,” he said. “Just as fast as it started it stopped.”
As firefighters entered the house through the front door, something fell onto the head of a Geigertown fire fighter. It is unclear what fell. Gullo said the blow knocked the firefighter to the ground, and he was pulled onto the porch by two of his fellow firefighters.
The injured firefighter, who Gullo did not identify, was taken by ambulance to Reading Hospital.
He remained there Saturday being treated for head and neck injuries.
No one was home when the fire broke out, Gullo said. The homeowner, Rose Hamilton, was alerted to it when melting wires triggered her burglar alarm.
Gullo said Hamilton told him she was having issues with her chimney earlier in the day. Based on the damage he saw, Gullo said he believes the fire started at the base of the chimney.
Gullo said based on the interior damage and age of the home he believes the house is a loss.
A state police fire marshall was scheduled to visit the scene Saturday afternoon to determine the official cause and damage estimate, Gullo said.