Woman, dogs unharmed in fire
WINFIELD TWP — A woman escaped with her two dogs Sunday afternoon when fire broke out at her house on the 400 block of Bear Creek Road in the township.
No one was injured in the fire that happened shortly after 3 p.m. Crews quickly put out the fire that apparently started in the dining room, authorities said.
The blaze is not believed to be suspicious, according to Matt Cypher, chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, but he said he planned to call in the state police fire marshal to investigate the cause.
The 38-year-old woman who lives there had just gotten out of the shower when she smelled smoke, her father, who was not in the home at the time of the fire, said. He did not want to give his name or his daughter's name, and fire officials did not immediately release her name.
She apparently thought the smoke she smelled was coming from outside, possibly from someone burning leaves. But within moments, her father said, she saw smoke coming from behind the hutch in the dining room.
The woman threw water on the fire before she got out with her dogs.
The Buffalo Township fire station is just two miles away and crews were there in minutes. Heavy smoke was coming out the front door and eaves of the roof, Cypher said.
“We arrived with an engine and made entry through the front door,” he said. The fire was contained a short time later.
“It looks like the bulk of the fire was contained to the dining room,” he said.
Crews later ventilated the house, which was built in 1973, and were still waiting to inspect the home to determine if any of the fire made it to the attic.
A damage estimate was not immediately available. The woman's father said his daughter would be staying with him in Buffalo Township until repairs are made.
Herman and South Buffalo Township firefighters assisted the Buffalo Township VFC.
