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PA State Police Troop R Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a blaze that destroyed an unoccupied second home at Tinkwig, in the wee hours Saturday morning Feb. 4th. This is the fourth home fire in Tinkwig in the past year, Forest Volunteer Chief Wayne Rosengrant said, two which were found to be arson.
A cause had not yet been determined by late Saturday.
In this case, the house at 107 Hawks Nest Drive was fully involved in flame when firefighters arrived, approximately 10 minutes after the call came in at 2:46 a.m. Almost all of the roof had already collapsed and when the blaze was out, it was not immediately clear how many stories the home once had. By the height of the chimney, the Chief said it appeared there were two.
A neighbor living on Route 590, perhaps a tenth mile away, was awakened by three explosions, which turned out to be propane tanks for the barbeque, blowing up. He looked out and saw a large flame through the woods, and called 9-1-1.
Soon, there were multiple calls being made to 9-1-1.
There was no one at home at the time of the fire. Firefighters checked a detached garage to se if there was any car inside, the Chief said, and noticed the garage door appears to have been kicked in. The State Police are looking to see if there perhaps was a burglary at this location.
Big response
Forest Volunteer Fire Department, quartered just down the road in Kimbles, was soon joined by fellow firefighters from Central, Greeley, Lackawaxen, Welcome Lake, Hawley, White Mills and Lakeville fire companies. Tafton Fire Company was dispatched later in the night to give relief to the crews on scene, and help with the mop-up and be sure the burned remains would not re-kindle.
A portable pond was set up at Route 590 and tankers shuttled water from Tinkwig Lake. There were two attack engines on scene.
Lakeville Fire Department was at the ready, serving as a Rapid Intervention Team. Rosengrant explained that their role is to standby on scene in case a firefighter is in trouble and needs to be rescued. Without a team watching their backs, he said that precious time could be lost while other firefighters are occupied with the tasks at hand.
Lackawaxen Ambulance was there to provide necessary rehabilitation to firefighters as they rotate out; vitals are checked to be sure they are doing all right. Hawley Ambulance was on duty to provide transport if needed. Thankfully, there were no injuries, the Chief noted.
In all, about 45 volunteers answered the call to action, which was a fine turnout. Need for mutual aid from numerous companies is important in these days of struggling volunteer base.
The homeowner, who lives in New Jersey, was contacted later that day by the Fire Chief. He said the homeowner had no idea how the fire would have started. The owner had last been at the house in late January.
Isolated homes
Rosengrant commented that it was his fear that sometime an arsonist might set a fire not realizing someone was actually in the home. The two arson fires at Tinkwig were both of unoccupied structures, in the middle of the night. There was another structure fire where someone was at home. A problem with any of these fires is the relative isolation of the homes, surrounded by woods. A fire in the night may go unnoticed before it is too late to save the house.
A lot of emergency responders lost practically night’s sleep, in the battle to stop a blaze wrecking someone’s vacation home. As of Saturday afternoon, Chief Rosengrant affirmed he had not been able to get any more sleep, working back and forth with the Fire Marshal Office and the homeowner, as well as a scheduled meeting with an architect for the planned Forest Volunteer dormitory.
Live-in program will help
The “live-in” program, once established, is expected to significantly reduce response time to fires, Rosengrant said.
He explained that currently, when a call comes in the middle of the night, a firefighter must jump from bed, get dressed and be out the door- which could take 5-7 minutes. Then by the time the fire truck is reached and underway, it could be another 5-7 minutes.
The plan is to have volunteer firefighters staying in a renovated dorm space on the second floor of the firehouse. When a call comes, the fire truck can be underway in as little as three minutes. Rosengrant said the live-in program would have definitely helped had it been underway at the time of the Tinkwig fire.
He added that typically, every minute lost, a fire doubles in size- depending on the available fuel, oxygen and type of construction.
Forest Volunteer Fire Department was recently notified that they have been awarded a state grant to make the renovations. They are in consultation with Lackawanna College Lake Region Center in Hawley, to see if there are any students in need of free sleeping space.
In return, they would agree to be trained and serve as volunteer firefighters. Rosengrant said they would not have to be students, but the plan is to have volunteers (male or female) who are either working or in school. They have not yet formally made an appeal but they have had four people inquire, Rosengrant said. The hope is to send the project out to bid this year and have the facility ready by this time- in the winter -of 2013.
Editor's note: The dormitory will be co-ed. An earlier version of this story incorrectly said they would be looking for male volunteers. Rather, both male and female firefighters will be considered.
PA State Police Troop R Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a blaze that destroyed an unoccupied second home at Tinkwig, in the wee hours Saturday morning Feb. 4th. This is the fourth home fire in Tinkwig in the past year, Forest Volunteer Chief Wayne Rosengrant said, two which were found to be arson.
A cause had not yet been determined by late Saturday.
In this case, the house at 107 Hawks Nest Drive was fully involved in flame when firefighters arrived, approximately 10 minutes after the call came in at 2:46 a.m. Almost all of the roof had already collapsed and when the blaze was out, it was not immediately clear how many stories the home once had. By the height of the chimney, the Chief said it appeared there were two.
A neighbor living on Route 590, perhaps a tenth mile away, was awakened by three explosions, which turned out to be propane tanks for the barbeque, blowing up. He looked out and saw a large flame through the woods, and called 9-1-1.
Soon, there were multiple calls being made to 9-1-1.
There was no one at home at the time of the fire. Firefighters checked a detached garage to se if there was any car inside, the Chief said, and noticed the garage door appears to have been kicked in. The State Police are looking to see if there perhaps was a burglary at this location.
Big response
Forest Volunteer Fire Department, quartered just down the road in Kimbles, was soon joined by fellow firefighters from Central, Greeley, Lackawaxen, Welcome Lake, Hawley, White Mills and Lakeville fire companies. Tafton Fire Company was dispatched later in the night to give relief to the crews on scene, and help with the mop-up and be sure the burned remains would not re-kindle.
A portable pond was set up at Route 590 and tankers shuttled water from Tinkwig Lake. There were two attack engines on scene.
Lakeville Fire Department was at the ready, serving as a Rapid Intervention Team. Rosengrant explained that their role is to standby on scene in case a firefighter is in trouble and needs to be rescued. Without a team watching their backs, he said that precious time could be lost while other firefighters are occupied with the tasks at hand.
Lackawaxen Ambulance was there to provide necessary rehabilitation to firefighters as they rotate out; vitals are checked to be sure they are doing all right. Hawley Ambulance was on duty to provide transport if needed. Thankfully, there were no injuries, the Chief noted.
In all, about 45 volunteers answered the call to action, which was a fine turnout. Need for mutual aid from numerous companies is important in these days of struggling volunteer base.
The homeowner, who lives in New Jersey, was contacted later that day by the Fire Chief. He said the homeowner had no idea how the fire would have started. The owner had last been at the house in late January.
Isolated homes
Rosengrant commented that it was his fear that sometime an arsonist might set a fire not realizing someone was actually in the home. The two arson fires at Tinkwig were both of unoccupied structures, in the middle of the night. There was another structure fire where someone was at home. A problem with any of these fires is the relative isolation of the homes, surrounded by woods. A fire in the night may go unnoticed before it is too late to save the house.
A lot of emergency responders lost practically night’s sleep, in the battle to stop a blaze wrecking someone’s vacation home. As of Saturday afternoon, Chief Rosengrant affirmed he had not been able to get any more sleep, working back and forth with the Fire Marshal Office and the homeowner, as well as a scheduled meeting with an architect for the planned Forest Volunteer dormitory.
Live-in program will help
The “live-in” program, once established, is expected to significantly reduce response time to fires, Rosengrant said.
He explained that currently, when a call comes in the middle of the night, a firefighter must jump from bed, get dressed and be out the door- which could take 5-7 minutes. Then by the time the fire truck is reached and underway, it could be another 5-7 minutes.
The plan is to have volunteer firefighters staying in a renovated dorm space on the second floor of the firehouse. When a call comes, the fire truck can be underway in as little as three minutes. Rosengrant said the live-in program would have definitely helped had it been underway at the time of the Tinkwig fire.
He added that typically, every minute lost, a fire doubles in size- depending on the available fuel, oxygen and type of construction.
Forest Volunteer Fire Department was recently notified that they have been awarded a state grant to make the renovations. They are in consultation with Lackawanna College Lake Region Center in Hawley, to see if there are any students in need of free sleeping space.
In return, they would agree to be trained and serve as volunteer firefighters. Rosengrant said they would not have to be students, but the plan is to have volunteers (male or female) who are either working or in school. They have not yet formally made an appeal but they have had four people inquire, Rosengrant said. The hope is to send the project out to bid this year and have the facility ready by this time- in the winter -of 2013.
Editor's note: The dormitory will be co-ed. An earlier version of this story incorrectly said they would be looking for male volunteers. Rather, both male and female firefighters will be considered.
