Fire destroys Villas house

Nov, 23-2009 4:28 pm

By NANCY RUMP and BILL BARLOW
Staff Writers

VILLAS – Several neighbors in a quiet neighborhood woke to flames pouring from a single-story home on Florida Avenue Monday morning.
There were no injuries reported as of Monday, but two dogs were killed in the blaze.
One neighbor said she saw flames shooting out of a front window and well into the air at about 7:15 a.m. Nov. 23. She called 911, to hear that fire crews were on their way. The front of the house was engulfed in fire, with flames reaching well above the roof, when the first firefighters arrived a short time later, witnesses said.
The woman that lived in the home, Lorraine Maahs, escaped unharmed, according to Lower Township police. Neighbors said a female, possibly Maahs, could be heard screaming outside the house shortly after 7 a.m. to call 911.
There were no other occupants, said police. Maahs lived with her three dogs, two white Maltese and a coonhound. The two Maltese perished, according to an officer at the scene. The coonhound, he said, survived the blaze. That dog was found in the back of the house where the fire had yet to spread.
The home, at 33 E. Florida Ave., was said to be a complete loss by officials on the scene, and would likely have to be torn down.
Investigators said an electric space heater is to blame.
By 9:45 a.m., Mark Alexander of the Erma Volunteer Fire Company said the fire was out, and crews on scene were getting ready to go in to look for hot spots inside the house.
Firefighters cut a hole in the roof near the back of the home to help quell blaze and keep it from spreading.
Alexander was at the Villas fire station to support the Villas Volunteer Fire Company, the primary responder to the fire. He said that Rio Grande and Town Bank volunteer fire crews also responded. Erma and Green Creek crews were also at the scene.
It took approximately three hours to get the fire completely under control, with crews departing around 10:30 a.m.