Family escapes Winfield Township fire
WINFIELD TWP — Firefighters were at the scene of a house fire at 237 Clearfield Road for nearly two-and-a-half hours Wednesday afternoon.
Rob Shuler, assistant chief of Herman Volunteer Fire Company, said he was glad the sun was out.
“I’m glad it wasn’t zero degrees; then everything is really complicated,” he said. “Everything turns to ice, and it’s complicated.”
No one was injured in the fire, and the four occupants of the house and their dog were able to make it out without injury, according to Shuler. He said the fire started in the kitchen and by the time the fire department arrived around 3:10 p.m., fire was shooting out of every side of the house.
Shuler said the cause of the fire is not yet known, but a fire marshal may visit the scene in the coming days. He said that nothing about the fire or its origin seems suspicious.
The house was a total loss, but as the firefighters were mitigating hazardous materials, the family was able to grab several hampers full of clothing, suitcases of other necessary items and even a few bags of chocolate candy that made it through the fire.
Shuler said the fire departments contained the fire relatively quickly.
“Water is always an issue, but they had such a quick knockdown we didn’t use too much,” Shuler said.
Robert Zaborowski said his sister lived in the house, and he lives down the street from the property and came to the scene to help out. Zaborowski said he was glad everyone was safe, including the family dog.
“It looks like they lost a lot of stuff, but everybody got out alive,” Zaborowski said. “In life we lose things, that’s the way it is.”
