FIRE DESTROYS HOME, VEHICLES

Family escapes: People inside escape flames without injuries Lack of water: Firefighters struggled to douse flames in heat

DOUGLASS (MONT.) >> 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 lo-

cated 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.

TOM KELLY III — FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA A large two-story home was destroyed by fire Thursday morning along with several out buildings and garages in the 500 block of Congo Road in the Gilbertsville section of Douglass Township.

TOM KELLY III — FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Several vehicles were also involved in the fire that took many fire companies more than one hour to bring under control.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Firefighters work to douse a fire on the 500 block of Congo Road in Douglass Township. It took crews about an hour to get the flames under control.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA The roof of a home on Congo Road was completely destroyed after a fire from an adjacent structure spread to the home.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Dozens of fire trucks lined Congo Road Thursday morning as multiple departments responded to a house fire on Congo Road.