UPDATE: One sister was killed and another burned in a fire in Trevorton Friday afternoon. State Police Fire Marshal Norman Fedder confirmed that a body was found in the kitchen area. The victim's name was not released, pending notification of next of kin.
TREVORTON — Her eyes glassy with tears, Liz Schwartz, of Trevorton, stood on a street corner late Friday afternoon, and watched helplessly as a five-alarm fire ravaged a three-story house in which two of her aunts were trapped — Pat Miller and her sister, Gertrude Koppenheffer.
Miller, in her 70s, had been caring for her older sister, Koppenheffer, in her 90s. Together, they were living at 249 E. Shamokin St., on the corner of Third Street. The house had once been an area landmark: Miller’s Bakery.
“Pat went into the house twice to try to save her sister,” said Schwartz, who stood one block away from the fiery blaze. “I was told she came out and went in again. Firemen were able to rescue her and keep her alive.”
Unconfirmed reports said Koppenheffer could not be rescued and that her body was still somewhere in the building, even as firefighters fought for hours to extinguish the blaze.
Northumberland County Coroner James F. Kelley said firefighters were still searching the rubble at 10 p.m.
Miller was taken to the regional burn center at Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment. Her condition is unknown.
About 100 firefighters from 10 area fire departments responded to blaze, which broke out in freezing weather about 3 p.m., said Trevorton Assistant Fire Chief Ed Reed. Reed added that frigid conditions made it hard on firefighters, as they were falling on the ice, and fire hoses were freezing up.
According to witnesses, flames shot out of first floor of the house first, then as the evening wore on, moved upstairs and to the back portion of the house, which used to be the bakery.
Gray smoke billowed from the house, covering the immediate area like a shroud.
By 6 p.m., flames could still be seen shooting out of the top floor windows, but fires on the other floors were under control.
The house was a total loss, said Reed. He said the freezing conditions added to the possibility that the three-story structure would collapse, because the water used to spray on the flames was freezing and placing additional stress on the house.
But Reed could not say what caused the fire. A state police fire marshal will investigate.
Across the street from the fire, Joseph Miller, a nephew of the two women, described them as nice people.
He said, “Pat did a lot of volunteer work for Saint Patrick’s Church in town. Pat was always volunteering for something. Gertrude, too.
“Pat is definitely the kind of person who wouldn’t have thought twice about going back into the fire to save her sister.”
When Miller first heard about the fire, he went rushing over to the building, hoping that Pat and Gert, as he called them, weren’t in the house.
“But when I got there, I saw that Pat’s car was in the back, and I knew that something bad might have happened,” he said.
A longtime family friend and neighbor, Gene Guyer, also watched as the fire consumed the house.
“Pat and Gertrude, they have been the kind of people you want as friends,” he said. “Come from a nice family. Good people. It’s a shame.”
Responding to the blaze were fire and rescue personnel from Trevorton, Upper Augusta Township, Lower Augusta Township, Coal Township, Pillow, Stonington, Shamokin, Overlook, Ralpho Township, Kulpmont and Area Services.
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Village has history of fire deaths
The village of Trevorton has been the site of three tragic fires. All three were on Shamokin Street.
Firefighter dies
Off-duty state police trooper Timothy DiOrio died in an Oct.
31, 2002, fire when he was trapped by falling debris inside a burning structure at 923 W. Shamokin St.
that collapsed on him.
DiOrio was a volunteer firefighter with the Maine Fire Company in Coal Township.
Five killed
Five people were killed and seven more had their home destroyed in a Feb. 28, 2006, fire in Trevorton at 124-126 W. Shamokin St. Killed were: Jeanine Pfeiffer, 37, Ronald Tentromono, and Pfeiffer’s son Tylor Pfeiffer, 11, as well as Althea Colasurdo- Adams, 19, and Cecelia Vottero, 86.
Colasurdo-Adams was the girlfriend of Jeanine Pfeiffer’s son Ryan Francis, 18, who escaped the fire. Vottero lived in a neighboring apartment.
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By Robert Inglis / The Daily Item
Discussion
UPDATE: One woman dies in Trevorton fire
One sister missing; other in burn unit
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