At 2:47pm, Thursday, emergency personnel were dispatched to 1112 Brock Street in Ashland for a house fire.
Ashland Police Chief Ger Daley was first to arrive and found multiple homes engulfed in flames, upgrading the fire to working and additional alarms.
As the first units arrived from Ashland, an explosion occurred in one of the homes. "As we pulled up, the explosion knocked the home right off it's foundation" said Fire Chief Philip Groody.
All occupants escaped the fire, including an elderly woman who was rescued by one of Ashland's firefighters.
Fire crews were called from all over Schuylkill County to the scene, as well as units from Northumberland and Columbia Counties. A tanker task force was also called.
A firefighter rehab unit from Danville was also at the scene.
The fire damaged or destroyed the homes located on Brock Street at the addresses of 1100, 1102, 1108, 1112, 1114, 1116, 1118, 1122, and 1134.
At one point, flying embers from the fire caught a home across the street on fire at 1034 Brock Street. The home reportedly suffered minor damage
The fire in the 1100 block burned for almost 2 hours before being declared under control. As of 8:30pm, many of the units had been released but ladder crews from Ashland, Mahanoy City, Frackville, and Shenandoah were still at the scene putting out hot spots.
Ashland crews will also remain on scene overnight.
In all, 29 people were displaced across 9 families. All are being assisted by the American Red Cross.
Some pets were rescued but there were also some that died in the fire.
We will have a separate post in regards to donations for the victims.
A State Police Fire Marshal was at the scene but no cause has been determined at the time of this writing.
