ALLEGANY COUNTY - An Allentown firefighter was injured, another considered by many as a hero for saving an 11-member Amish family as flames ripped through their home on Meservey Hill Road Monday afternoon. Fire pagers were activated at 12:26 p.m. Monday for a house fire with initial reports of family members trapped inside the structure. Allentown Fire Chief Paul Edwards said his 2nd assistant chief, Greg Taylor, arrived at the scene to find several family members inside the fire engulfed home, attempting to save property. Taylor quickly helped household members to safety. Edwards said fire investigators determined that the blaze originated near a wood-fired cooking stove. Damage was pegged at over $70,000. The fire chief said the blaze was a challenge, noting the structure had "a lot of void spaces." It took fire crews from two states close to two hours to bring the blaze under control. One young Allentown firefighter, Edward's son, was taken to Jones Memorial hospital suffering from suspected smoke inhalation and dehydration. He was treated and later released. As the volunteers worked to extinguish the tricky blaze, others rushed inside the home. Edwards said "we salvaged a lot of stuff for them (the family)." The home is owned by owned by Noah and Elizabeth Miller.
Edwards said there was a large response from ten fire and ambulance agencies, to include a hook and ladder truck from Genesee, PA to assist the Emerald Hook and Ladder. Firefighters initially attacked the blaze from the inside, but were quickly pulled out because "the collapse risk was too great," Edwards said. Officials utilized a nearby pond at the Shear residence to help with water supply. Edwards said the home was gutted. The Red Cross wasn't needed. Edwards said the Amish community responded "almost as fast as the fire engines did." The Miller family said they immediately wanted access so they could rebuild, but were told they should wait a day or two for things to "cool down." Fire crews remained at the scene for over seven hours. The home was built in 1900.
