A wood-frame home just south of Smithville burns early Saturday afternoon.
Firefighters battle a blaze at a wood-frame home just south of Smithville early this afternoon.
A wood-frame home just south of Smithville burns early Saturday afternoon.
A wood-frame home just south of Smithville burns early Saturday afternoon.
A wood-frame home just south of Smithville burns early Saturday afternoon.
Firefighters battle a blaze at a wood-frame home just south of Smithville early this afternoon.
Firefighters battle a blaze at a wood-frame home just south of Smithville early this afternoon.
Firefighters walk up the driveway of a wood-frame house that caught fire around 2 p.m. Saturday in Providence Township.
Fire engines line Route 272 in Providence Township, Saturday.
Embers from a burn pile sparked a fire that destroyed a home Saturday in Providence Township.
The residents of the home, at 417 Lancaster Pike (Route 272), were doing yardwork when their house caught fire just before 2 p.m., Willow Street Fire Chief Mike Reese said.
"It looks like the burn pile caught some wind which blew embers against the house," he added.
Reese said fire traveled quickly through the two-story wooden home. Surrounding woods also had begun to catch fire, he said.
"When we got there it was fully in flames, there wasn't much we could do. There was no saving the home."
For safety, Reese said, crews battled the blaze solely from the exterior.
"There was a great deal of structural instability, a lot of collapse," he added. "A defensive operation was really our only option."
The home is in a wooded area accessible by two long driveways. Reese said crews ran a water supply line up one of the drives from Lancaster Pike.
There are no hydrants in the area so tankers shuttled water to the site from a pond about a mile away at the Smithville mobile home park, Reese added. The park is at Lancaster Pike and Pennsy Road.
He said the blaze was brought under control within an hour. Crews were still at the site late Saturday continung with overhaul of the property.
A state police fire marshal ruled the blaze accidental in nature and estimated damage at $350.000.
According to county records, the home is owned by Daniel and Fannie Bender.
The residents, whom Reese said were not injured, were able to rescue their dog from the burning home.
They are being assisted by family members and American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley, according to Reese.
A few firefighters suffered minor injuries such as cuts and bruises and were treated at the scene, Reese said.
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