By Karen Blackledge
The Daily Item
DEWART — A couple in their mid to late 70s were injured early Saturday morning when they leaped two stories to escape the fire that was engulfing their home.
Russell Yordy, 74, and his wife, Helen, 79, were asleep when the blaze broke out at 4:48 a.m. in their home along Route 44 between Dewart and Allenwood in Delaware Township, Northumberland County.
“Somebody stopped by and banged on the door,” their son, Victor Yordy, said Saturday afternoon.
The couple jumped from the second-story of an addition to their home and landed in bushes, their son said.
After jumping, the Yordys got into their car and drove in front of the home.
“I got here when they were putting Dad into an ambulance,” said Victor, who was on his way to an estate sale and saw a fire truck and ambulance at his parents’ home.
Russell was reported Saturday in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown. He was flown by helicopter to the hospital.
Helen was taken by a Warrior Run ambulance to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville.
According to the Yordys’ children, Russell has back fractures and is suffering from smoke inhalation, and Helen suffered cracked ribs.
The Yordys’ dog perished in the blaze that drew 75 firefighters from Northumberland, Union and Lycoming counties.
The fire caused extensive damage to the addition to the property, known as Green Acres Estate, with the original farm home dating to 1816.
Victor, who lives two blocks from his parents’ house, said: “I grabbed hoses and helped the firemen as much as I could.”
The Yordys’ daughter, Sandy Perko, of Watsontown, arrived at the fire scene after her husband, Ken, called her about the blaze while on his way to work.
Perko said she was able to retrieve family photos from the home.
“The firemen brought them out,” she said.
Destroyed in a garage under the two-story addition were at least two cars. One was what Perko said was her mother’s “pride and joy,” a 1966 Mustang purchased in late 1965 — “I took my driver’s test in that car,” Perko said — and a 1955 Pontiac convertible.
She said the Mustang had just been taken to the Yordy property from one of her brother’s homes.
Victor and Sandy’s sister, Bobbi Mathias, of nearby Delaware Heights, was at Geisinger with their mother while another brother, Tim Yordy, who lives near Dewart, was at the Allentown hospital with their father, the former owner of Cabinet Surplus in Dewart.
“We all live within a mile or two of each other,” Perko said of her siblings.
The addition to the home was engulfed when the Warrior Run Area Fire Department arrived, Deputy Chief Doug Funk said. The blaze was brought under control in about 30 minutes.
Firefighters found the Yordys’ Doberman, named Daisy, dead on the second-floor of the home.
State police fire Marshal Norm Fedder will probably investigate the cause of the blaze Monday, Funk said.
“We have an idea where the fire started, but I’d rather wait for the fire marshal,” Funk said, adding that he had no reason to suspect the cause to be other than accidental.
He expects Warrior Run Area Fire Chief Mark Burrows to estimate the loss on Monday.
Perko said she believed the property was insured.
The Yordys own cattle and llamas, but at one time had bison and ostriches. “Do Not Cross” fire tap was strung across statues of large and small bison that sit around the property. A backhoe in the driveway prevented people from entering. A number of people had stopped to talk with the brother and sister about the fire.
Victor said his father built the brick, frame and stucco addition, which is about 40 feet by 40 feet, when the Yordys purchased the property in 1991.
“When they bought it, it had been empty for about 30 years,” Victor said. “The roof was off the barn. He had trees cut down and milled and used them for the barn floor and roof. A lot of the bricks came from structures around here.”
The addition, which they used often, contained bedrooms upstairs, and a kitchen, living room and dining room on the first floor.
“They restored the original part of the house,” Victor said. That section of the house was damaged by smoke and water.
Companies assisting the Warrior Run department included those from Milton, Potts Grove and Turbot Township in Northumberland County; Mifflinburg in Union County; and Muncy, Clinton Township, Clarkstown and Washington Township in Lycoming County.
Route 405 at Route 44 was closed during the fire.
