Northampton man escapes burning house
No one injured; cause of fire still being determined
A man jumped from the second floor of a Northampton home on fire early Saturday, safely escaping the blaze that broke out before noon and had several fire crews responding.
As smoke and flames appeared on the first floor of a Northampton house late Saturday morning, neighbors yelled to alert anyone who might be inside.
The homeowners were not in the house, on the 100 block of East First Street, but their adult son was, and he couldn’t get out from the first floor because of the intensifying fire, neighbors and fire officials said.
So he went to the second floor and jumped out a bedroom window, a neighbor helping to break his fall, witnesses said.
Within minutes, the fire gutted the house, leaving a brick shell and a hole in the roof.
Mike Dreisbach, spokesman for Northampton Borough Fire Department, said no one was injured in Saturday’s two-alarm blaze, which was reported at 11:49 a.m. Fire investigators are trying to determine where and how it started, Dreisbach said.
He confirmed that the homeowners and their two dogs were not in the house when the fire began.
He did not know if a pet rabbit, kept in the basement, survived. The homeowners returned as crews battled the fire.
The call was initially dispatched as a “fully-involved” dwelling fire with “entrapment,” but when firefighters arrived, they learned that the only person in the house had jumped to safety, Dreisbach said.
Crews from seven fire companies in Northampton and Lehigh counties assisted in knocking down the fire, he said. Smoke could be seen for miles. By about 12:45 p.m., the fire appeared mostly to be out.
Paula Guidon, who watched from across the street, said the home’s residents had lived there for several years.
She said they were out with their dogs when neighbors smelled smoke and then saw the flames. Some yelled for the homeowners’ son to get out of the house, she said. Others called 911.