House Fire in Williamsburg Thursday Leaves two Homeless

A mid-morning fire in Williamsburg on Thursday, Jan. 23, left one couple homeless and claimed the lives of two pets.

Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ted Hyle said the alarm came in around 10:20 a.m. for a fire at 809 W. Second St. Crews from Roaring Spring, Hollidaysburg, Martinsburg, Geeseytown and Bellwood assisted Williamsburg. Alexandria manned the Williamsburg station on stand-by.

Hyle said they had the fire under control in about 90 minutes but that the home appears to be a total loss. An investigation into the cause of the blaze is underway, but Hyle said it appears to have started in the fireplace.

The home's occupants, Rodney and Theresa Lane, were not home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported, but two pets, a dog and a cat, perished.

The Red Cross is helping and a neighbor set up a GoFundMe account to assist the Lanes.

The neighbors wrote that they live two houses away from the Lanes and saw smoke in the attic and called 9-1-1. They wrote that the Lanes are "like family" and though they lost everything in the fire, Mr. Lane's concern was that his neighbors had enough firewood, something he would often give out.

Hyle said the quick response from neighboring fire companies helped keep the blaze from spreading.

"We had a good turnout from all our support companies of firefighters to help fight the blaze," Hyle said.

Hyle said Williamsburg Borough employees and Police Chief Rowdy Kagarise kept the area around the fire safe for the firefighters to do their work.

"I want to thank and commend our borough employees and police chief," Hyle said. "They did a great job helping out by taking care of the icy areas around the fire to make sure we had a safe place to work. They did traffic control and if we needed anything they went and got it. They do a very nice job of supporting us."

Hyle also thanked Martins General Store and the Sizzler restaurant in Williamsburg for providing food and drinks for the working fire crews.