Recent Incidents 3 Alarm Blaze In Gable Park Woods Development January 23rd, 2005, 10:31 PM

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LANCASTER TOWNSHIP, PA - Lancaster Township Fire Department responded to a townhouse fire at 10 Townsend Court, Sunday January 23. A passerby saw flames and smoke coming from the roof of the townhouses on Townsend Court in the Gable Park Woods Development and called 911 at 10:31 p.m.

Lancaster Township Chief 6-6-2/EMA, Mike Pickard, who lives two blocks from the reported fire, responded and encountered heavy smoke in the area. The entire neighborhood was blanketed in smoke making it difficult to determine which house was on fire.

To determine the actual building of origin, a door to door search was conducted, starting in the center of the row of the six townhouses. This is where the largest amount of smoke was hovering above the buildings.

“None of the occupants of the building were aware of the fire. All were escorted out of their homes by Lancaster City Police officers and arriving firefighters” said Lancaster Township Fire Chief Glenn Usdin. Ann and Richard Layton, who live at 10 Townsend Court, were watching a fire in the fireplace at the time, apparently unaware of the blaze above them Usdin said.

Lancaster Township Deputy Chief Ron Comfort Jr. entered 10 Townsend Court and removed the occupants and proceeded to the second floor. Comfort encountered heavy fire above him in the attic and in a closet. Upon confirmation of a working fire, a second alarm was transmitted.

The smoke billowing from the roof of 10 Townsend Court was replaced by a small flame around the chimney area. Less than a minute later, the small flame engulfed the entire ridge line. The roof collapsed and the attic was fully involved in flames.

The fire began impinging on the roof/attic area of the exposure buildings at 9 and 11 Townsend Court. Smoke began seeping from the gable ends and the ridge line along the entire structure.

The Building was a row of six townhomes constructed in the middle 90's before adoption of the BOCA or State building codes. The firewall was in attic only and consisted of drywall only.The Roof members were light weight truss construction.

A third alarm 3rd alarm was requested along with 4 additional truck companies.

Lancaster Township Engine 6-6-2 arrived and was instructed to stretch a supplyline from a hydrant in front of the fire building. Firefighters initially advanced one 1 3/4” handline into a exposure building and one 1 3/4” line into the fire building where there were normal conditions present. The crew started pulling the ceilings to expose the fully involved attic area.

Rohrerstown Truck 6-7 setup in front of the fire building and took the roof from their bucket. The truck crew threw ladders below windows around the building as a secondary means of egress for firefighters.

Lancaster Township Engine 6-6-1 arrived next and was instructed to lay in an additional supplyline to secure a secondary water supply due to the freezing temperatures. Firefighters assisted with handlines and advanced a line into a second exposure building. The crew began pulling ceilings and breeched the exposure walls to gain access to the fire.

Firefighters operated into the attic areas of the exposure buildings and the main fire building and stopped the fire from extending. In all 6 handlines were in operation on the fire.

The main body of fire was knocked down in approximately 30-45 minutes and all visible fire was knocked down in less than 1 hour. Firefighters were able to hold the fire to the house or origin.

No occupants were injured , but two Lancaster Township Firefighters required hospital treatment. The ceiling of the second floor collapsed on a firefighter, causing a minor head injury, Usdin said. He was treated at Lancaster General Hospital. Another firefighter suffered an allergic reaction from dust or other particles during the fire. He also was treated at Lancaster General Hospital.

“Something happened to the flue pipe. It broke, and all the hot embers emptied into the attic,” Usdin said.

The blaze destroyed the roof and second floor of the Layton home, which is in the middle of the row six townhouse units. The fire also burned through walls of units at 9 and 11 Townsend Court, but those units sustained less damage than the Layton dwelling.

Residents of the other townhouses in the row were allowed to return to their homes after firefighters finished their work at the scene.

Firefighters braved the night cold to battle the three-alarm blaze that caused $200,000 damage to three townhouse units.

Weather conditions during the fire were horrendous. “It was 8 degrees, and the wind was constantly blowing 20 to 30 mph. It doesn’t get any worse than this,” said Usdin. Water from hoses quickly turned to ice. But firefighters, who numbered about 100 and came from as far away as Eden and East Petersburg, never quit.

“The firefighters did one fine job. They were aggressive in fighting the fire, and we kept it from spreading.” said Usdin.

Fortunately, the homeowners had cleared the fire hydrant from a snow bank in front of their home.

“Had they not cleared out that hydrant, it would have taken us some time to find it and uncover it the chief noted.

The Laytons Reportedly had four cats. One was rescued, and the others also probably survived as they ran into the basement, Usdin said. Redcross representatives were assisting them following the fire.

Residents of the other townhouses in the row were allowed to return to their homes after the firefighters finished up at the scene.

Volunteers from Millersville, Roherstown, Willow Street, East Petersburg,Hempfield, Eden, West Lancaster and New Danville assisted Lancaster Township firefighters at the scene. Lancaster EMS and Conestoga ambulance crews also responded, along with Lancaster City Police

Willow Street and Roherstown Fire Companies covered Lancaster Township during the incident. A Lancaster Township road crew provided sand and salt to make the fireground a safer. Fire police handled perimeter crowd control. neighbors offered garages for rehab.

Units returned to their warm homes at approximately 2 a.m.