Flames tore through this double-block home Tuesday afternoon on Keech Street in Nanticoke’s Honey Pot section.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
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Crews are seen battling a house fire in Nanticoke’s Honey Pot section Tuesday afternoon.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Crews are seen battling a house fire in Nanticoke’s Honey Pot section Tuesday afternoon.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Flames tore through this double-block home Tuesday afternoon on Keech Street in Nanticoke’s Honey Pot section.
Joe Soprano | Leader One
Flames tore through this double-block home Tuesday afternoon on Keech Street in Nanticoke’s Honey Pot section.
Joe Soprano | Leader One
A helicopter carrying a water bucket can be seen circling the area of the brush fire that sparked as a result of a house fire on Keech Street in Nanticoke.
Crews continued to battle hotspots within the home well into Tuesday evening. Due to the instability of the structure, it will likely be knocked down tonight or early tomorrow.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear and an investigation was underway later Tuesday.
NANTICOKE — A fire tore through a double-block home on Keech Street in the city’s Honey Pot section Tuesday afternoon, causing a brush fire that spread to surrounding areas.
No injuries were reported.
The house fire had been brought under control by late Tuesday afternoon, though crews continued to battle hot spots — and the brush fire — well into the evening.
Daniel Guevarez, who lives in the right half of the double-block home, told the Times Leader he and his dog were home at the time of the fire and escaped unharmed. Guevarez said he believed the left half had been vacant for about 10 years, and that he heard people walking around that side of the building just before the fire started.
A neighbor, who declined to be identified — and whose car was destroyed by the blaze — also told the Times Leader that she believed one side of the home had been unoccupied for many years.
Nanticoke City Fire Chief Mark Boncal said he was unable to say whether the cause of the fire was suspicious, adding that an investigation was underway and that a State Police Fire Marshall would be at the scene once all of the hot spots were knocked down.
Boncal was able to confirm that the fire started at the rear of the vacant half of the double block and quickly moved to the second floor.
When crews arrived around 1:40 p.m., a car parked to the left of the structure was on fire, as well as the rear porch of the adjoining house.
Though firefighters were able to contain the fire to the exterior of the house next door, the double block was all but destroyed. Due to the instability of the structure, Boncal said it would likely be knocked down later Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.
Brush fire spread from blaze
Crews also battled a large brush fire, which spread across the mountain, that began as a result of the house fire. Boncal said the brush fire was fueled by burning debris and wind.
Pikes Peak resident Katie Hauer said she and her two children were about to get into her car when she saw the smoke from the fire and came to see if everyone was okay. It was then that she witnessed the fire spreading toward the mountain.
“We saw the big trees catching on fire,” Hauer said. “Then, it went up over the hill.”
A helicopter carrying a water bucket continued to circle the area of the brush fire into the early evening.