Fire damages Tamaqua home
Two escape by climbing onto second floor roof
By DONALD R. SERFASS dserfasstnonline.com
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DONALD R. SERFASS/TIMES NEWS Firefighters rush into the rear of this 216 North Lehigh Street home late Tuesday as smoke can be seen pouring from the Tamaqua residence. The owner and his son escaped serious injuries by fleeing onto a second story roof and climbing down a tree.
Two Tamaqua residents fled to safety out of a second story bedroom window late Tuesday when fire erupted in the rear portion of their home.
Flames and heavy smoke at the George Schlorf residence, 216 North Lehigh Street, forced Schlorf and son Derek, 16, to climb out onto a second floor porch roof and then make their way down a large tree and into the safety of a side yard, suffering only minor cuts or abrasions.
Schlorf is a brother to Tamaqua Fire Chief Tom "Okie" Schlorf, an Orwigsburg Street resident and one of the first to arrive on the scene.
"Flames were shooting out when I got here," said Chief Schorf, who grabbed a garden hose and played a stream of water on the blaze until firefighters arrived moments later.
The building was Schlorf's boyhood home and has been in the Schlorf family for many years.
Firefighters responded to a 10:36 p.m. call for a "working structure fire," which summoned all four Tamaqua companies, Coaldale Fire Department and Pottsville Fire Department.
The blaze appeared to be most intense at the rear portion of the large, wood-frame Victorian home, with flames shooting upward from a kitchen located on the first floor. The kitchen area appeared to be gutted by the flames.
"There was a lot of heat in there. It blew out a window and a door," said Chief Schlorf.
Neighbors said flames at the rear of the building initially could be seen shooting high into the air.
Fast response by firefighters helped to contain the blaze. However, the eight-room house sustained considerable damage from heat, smoke and water. Schlorf said it was too early to determine an exact cause.
Also responding were members of Coaldale fire police, Tamaqua fire police, Tamaqua ambulance and Tamaqua rescue. Fire police re-routed traffic in the west end, particularly around West Rowe, West Broad, Lafayette and Lombard streets. Firefighters were still on the scene at 2 a.m.
Gustavus "Gus" Schlorf, brother to Tom and George, told the TIMES NEWS that the house has been in the family for at least three generations and was once owned by his grandfather, Gustavus Knies. The home has been the site of many family gatherings for the large Schlorf family and was the site of a few weddings.
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