By Erin Thompson
GLEN IRON — A neighbor summoned firefighters after seeing smoke pouring from a western Union County home on Monday, but the fire was too far along for crews to keep the blaze from heavily damaging the structure.
The owner of the house, Steve Noggle, was not home when the fire began at about 12:30 p.m., Mifflinburg Fire Chief John Heiges said.
“By the time we got here, the fire was in the attic and through the house,” said Heiges. “The fire burned a hole through the roof.”
The home, near Creek and Ranck roads in Hartley Township, is in the area previously served by the now-defunct West End Fire Company.
Hartley Township has contracted with Mifflinburg as its primary fire department since the majority of the West End firefighters quit in protest after revelations that the fire company’s treasurer had allegedly embezzled $37,000.
Heiges said that fire service in the area is now provided by most of the same firefighters who operated the West End Fire Company, and rescue equipment is housed in Hartley Township, so response times are not substantially different than they were when the West End Fire Company was operating.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but it was evident that it began in the back of the home, Heiges said.
“We think it was the boiler, but we’re not sure,” he said.
Firefighters hope a state police fire marshal will pinpoint the cause when he visits the scene on Wednesday.
The Mifflinburg, Middleburg, New Berlin and Penns Creek fire companies responded to the fire. The fire was the third call of the day for the Mifflinburg Hose Company, Heiges said, following a smoke investigation in Penns Creek and a fatal vehicle crash on Route 104.
n E-mail comments to Erin Thompson at ethompson@dailyitem.com.
