Fire leaves family of 7 homeless
SUMMIT TWP — A family of seven lost their house to a fire early Sunday.
No one was home when the fire started in a two-story wooden house on Dittmer Road.
Neighbor Amy Tebay said that she called 911 after noticing flames across the street around 12:30 a.m.
Tebay said they weren't sure if the family was home and her husband ran outside to check their driveway for vehicles. Fortunately, their van was not there, she said.
Christine Manchester and her six children, ages 4 to 15, were all safe nearby at their grandparents' house, said Josie Rhodaberger, Manchester's mother. They were not staying at home because their hot water heater was not working, she said.
The family lost everything, but Rhodaberger said that what's most important is that everyone was unharmed.
“I'm so thankful they stayed at our house. I thank God for that,” she said.
The family, who moved into the Dittmer Road home about one year ago, had homeowner's insurance.
Firefighters from the Herman, South Butler, Lick Hill, East Butler, Saxonburg, Oneida Valley, Buffalo Township, Winfield Township departments used tanker trucks to fight the blaze, though the house and all its contents were destroyed.
Using the fire hydrant across the street from the Herman Fire Hall, they used 33,000 gallons of water and foam in fighting the fire, said Rob McLafferty, Herman fire chief.
Fire crews doused a brick house next door throughout the night to prevent the fire from spreading. Heat from the burning house partially melted some of the siding on the Tebays' house.
Emergency responders stayed on the scene for more than eight hours, braving the cold temperatures.
“We really appreciated all the assistance from our mutual aid fire companies. Everybody worked really well together,” McLafferty said.
He said the Red Cross had been contacted and was assisting the family.
A state police fire marshal was investigating, though the fire was not believed to be suspicious, he said Sunday night. The total damage was estimated at $200,000.
Thanks to the kindness of strangers, and a campaign to collect clothing and donations for the family, Manchester's children will have school supplies and clothes when they return to class Monday.
Scott Dittman of Karns City said he reached out to relatives of the family Sunday and got sizes of clothing and made a post about donating in the Facebook group “Helping Butler County.”
Dittman said he worked with Deb Moran of Suit Yourself, a charitable organization that provides clothing to families in their time of need, to get some of the donations to the family.
They were set with new school supplies, but donations of clothes were still being collected Sunday, which would either go to the family or to future fire victims, Dittman said.
The family's two oldest children, ages 14 and 15, go to Butler High School, while the other four siblings go to St. Wendelin School.
Manchester did not return a message left through a relative Sunday.
