MOUNT CARMEL - Jessica Jackson was grateful someone got the family pictures out of her home before she watched fire consume it.
It was a glimmer of hope while her house on the 200 block of East Second Street was heavily damaged in a four-alarm blaze Wednesday morning.
In all, three homes were destroyed, three others damaged and eight to 10 people were displaced.
It was first reported at 8:11 a.m. and took firefighters from at least 10 municipalities - from Sunbury to Frackville - more than two hours to bring under control in near freezing temperatures.
Incident commander Clayton Hubler, Mount Carmel Rescue Squad, said a single row home at 242 and the double homes at 244 and 246 E. Second St. were destroyed, while a single home at 236 E. Second St. suffered exterior water damage. The double homes at 248 and 250 E. Second St. were also damaged when firefighters broke windows and cut holes in the roofs for ventilation.
Jackson, her husband, Mark, and son, Tyler, occupy 244 E. Second St., while Colleen May and Adam Auman live at 248 E. Second St. Hubler said names of others displaced by the fire would not be released until all names are confirmed, but he said all homes were occupied.
State Police Fire Marshall Kirk Renn, of the Selinsgrove barracks, is expected on scene today to determine origin and cause, but the blaze is not considered suspicious.
Walls were hot
Jackson said she discovered the fire along with a neighbor, who declined to give her name.
"Jessica called me saying the wall was hot in her home, so she and I, with extinguishers at the ready, poked a hole in the wall with a claw hammer and flames started coming out," the neighbor said. "I called 911 and they told us to get out of the home."
Tough fight
Hubler said the fire was tough to battle initially.
"We were faced with limited manpower and had a hydrant issue, which limited our water supply," Hubler said. "At that point, we called in a tanker brigade to help."
There were too many fire trucks pulling water from three hydrants in too small of an area, but it did not hinder the suppression of the fire, he said.
At one point, ladder trucks from Mount Carmel, Shamokin and Sunbury worked together to spray water on the houses from mounted deck guns.
On scene 6 hours
With six homes - all of them occupied - Hubler said it could have been worse, but no one injured.
As for firefighters, one suffered a minor injury to his hand that occurred outside the structure, he said.
Crews had the flames under control at 10:11 a.m. and continued to check for hot spots. The scene wasn't cleared until 2:09 p.m., some six hours after it was reported.