Fire rips through home, displaces 4 in Avoca

AVOCA, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A fire ripped through a home in Luzerne County leaving four people displaced and the home severely damaged. 28/22 News Reporter Emily Allegrucci was on scene and she spoke with two men who sprung into action when they heard cries for help.

The fast-spreading fire in Avoca required backup from several departments around the area.

But even before the first crews arrived on scene, a pair of local workers were running toward the flames.

A large structure fire broke out on Main Street in Avoca just before 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.

“Just a bunch of smoke, a bunch of fire and it just rapidly shot up,” said Allentown resident Kenderick Brown.

Multiple crews from Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties responded to the fire that was quickly spreading.

“The fire department came and they took care of it, do what they do best. They were here fast, within five minutes,” said Old Forge resident Daniel Smallacombe.

But before fire crews even got the call, two men working at neighboring homes dropped what they were doing and ran to the burning home.

“We were doing work across the street when the fire started, we heard the neighbors come out calling for help. We kinda did what we could to help them out, you know grab the fire hose, try and do what we could,” Brown explained.

“I was just in the back, and I saw smoke coming from the building, I saw a couple people running over. I came up immediately when I saw it. I was over here directing traffic,” Smallacombe said.

When they arrived on the scene, Avoca Fire Chief Tom Matthews said there was one person still inside, but they were able to get out safely and there were no injuries reported.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but crews say they believe it started in the basement.

The chief says that the flames got into the walls, traveling all the way up to the attic where the responding crews directed most of their efforts during this battle.

Once the fire was put out, firefighters stayed on the scene inspecting inside the home to make sure the flames wouldn’t re-ignite.