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Saturday Fire Destroys Freedom Township Home

Fire ripped through a double-wide trailer in East Freedom on Saturday morning, April 13, chasing the occupants out of bed before completely consuming the interior.

A passerby noticed smoke coming from the back of the property of Ronald Mellott and his wife Angie and called 9-1-1.

Freedom Township Fire Chief Ron Henry, who had been at the station since 8 a.m., was preparing for the next day's ham potpie fundraising dinner when a call came in at approximately 11 a.m. for a shed on fire behind 526 Freedom St., one block south of the fire hall.

Henry responded and as he turned the corner on Johnstown Road, the smoke filling the air told him it was more than a shed fire, prompting a second call to the Blair County 911 center, instructing them to upgrade the call to a "first alarm" assignment, bringing crews from Roaring Spring, Martinsburg, Claysburg, Duncansville and Blue Knob to help battle the blaze.

When Henry arrived, he was told that Ronald Mellott was still in bed, as his wife was not aware the fire had spread from the shed to the residence. Hearing this, Freedom Township Police Chief Terry Dellinger entered the house to get Mellott out before the structure became fully involved.

"The wife thought it was just a shed fire, but there was smoke coming out of the eves of the roof and I knew we had a house fire," Henry said. "The chief and one of his officers went into the house and got the husband out."

As crews battled the blaze, Mellott and his wife stood on the railroad tracks helplessly watching as their possessions burned a few feet away.

Mellott, who is a registered nurse, said the home was not insured as he was in the process of trying to find a more affordable policy than the one he previously had.

"We are between insurances because of the price," he said. "I was looking for cheaper insurance but didn't realize that when you have a mobile home, very few companies will insure you."

Crews had the blaze under control within an hour and stayed on scene for another hour putting out hot spots.

Ronald Mellott said he and his wife, along with his stepson Patrick, had lived in the house since 2013. He said it will take time to process the loss of everything he owns.

"You never know how much stuff you have until something like this happens and you have to think about what all you have," he said. "There is a lot of sentimental stuff in there."

The Red Cross was on scene to assist the Mellotts, putting them up in a local hotel for a few days.

Mellott said the family escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs. A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist the family.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 

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