PORT CARBON - An electrical circuit overload at a duplex on Coal Street started a fire that destroyed both homes and left four people homeless Wednesday morning, according to Scott D. Krater, the borough's fire marshal.
The fire started just after 6 a.m. at 233 Coal St., a two-story apartment house. While working to extinguish the flames, firefighters discovered the second floor of that address was secretly a marijuana growing-operation with more than 75 plants, according to borough police Chief Jon J. Bowman.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they ultimately made the decision that that had something to do with the electrical problems which caused the fire. If that turns out to be the case, that could lead to even more charges being filed," said Schuylkill County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Reiley, who was on scene Wednesday afternoon.
The two properties in the duplex were:
- 233 Coal St., a two-story apartment home owned by Dean Vermeersch, 53, according to whitepages.com. He lived on the first floor and was leasing the second floor to "a person whom he believes is named Gary Rothenberger," Bowman said in court documents filed in the office of Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon. According to the documents, Vermeersch rents the second floor to Rothenberger as storage space but there is no written contract or lease.
Vermeersch bought 233 Coal St. on March 30 from Dale J. Smith for $14,000, according to the online Schuylkill Parcel Locator.
- 231 Coal St., a three-story home owned by Lamar E. Staller, 44, and his wife, Katrina M., 43. They lived there with their daughter, Becky, 14.
The Stallers have owned 231 Coal St. since 1997, when they bought the home from Joseph W. and Rose Ann Snyder for $46,000, according to the parcel locator.
The Stallers had six cats but all died as the result of injuries they suffered in the fire, according to borough fire Chief Michael E. Welsh.
Welsh said the fire gutted all of 233 Coal St. and the upper floors of 231, and both buildings were unlivable.
"I guess we have to rebuild. That's our only option as of right now," Lamar Staller said as he looked up at the smoke-damaged Christmas decorations on his front porch railing.
When he heard about the marijuana operation next door, he sighed with disgust: "Nice."
"There were overloaded electrical outlets in 233 Coal St.," Krater said. "At this time, we've determined that the fire was electrical in nature. The fire appears to have started in the wall area located between the first floor and the second floor. There was a common, open area all the way up from the basement. It looks like it started in one of the rooms on the second floor."
The fire was called into the Schuylkill County Communications Center at 6:32 a.m., according to a communications supervisor.
Responders included firefighters from Port Carbon, Palo Alto, Pottsville, Saint Clair and Schuylkill Haven; Pottsville/Schuylkill Haven ALS; police from Port Carbon, Saint Clair and East Norwegian Township; and the American Red Cross.
Vermeersch heard smoke detectors and fled the building Wednesday morning, Bowman said in the court documents.
Vermeersch could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Flames were shooting up from the roof when firefighters arrived on scene, according to Bob Murray, who lives at 222 Coal St.
"The fire sirens woke me up. I looked out and, at first, you couldn't see anything. The smoke was incredibly thick," Murray said.
When firefighters burst into 233, Bowman said he witnessed something horrifying: a cat on fire.
"Around 6:30, as soon as they busted through the back, the cat came out on fire. They hit it with the hose and it took off screaming," Bowman said.
The cat fled and firefighters were unable to catch it right away, Bowman said.
Lamar Staller said he was driving to work when he heard that his home was on fire. He works as a service center representative at KME-Kovatch Organization, Nesquehoning.
"We make fire trucks," Staller said.
His wife called him with the bad news and he turned around and returned home. There to offer support were friends of the family, including Linda Grube, Pottsville.
"For now, I guess we'll be staying with friends and neighbors," Staller said.
Evaluating the fire damage, the fire chief said the fire gutted both the first and second floors of 233.
"That place is done," Welsh said.
At 231 Coal St., there was severe water damage on the first floor and the second and third floors were gutted by the blaze, Welsh said.
The Stallers had six cats living in their basement but by the time firefighters were able to reach them, five had died.
Firefighter Tim Walsh said he tried to save the life of the sixth, a 5-year-old orange-colored male named "Britches." But Walsh said that cat died, too.
"I used a BVM, a pet mask, on the cat. I was working on the cat for about a half-hour to 45 minutes," Walsh said.
Water-splashed pavements soon turned slick in the 30-degree cold.
"The local street department came out and some of the companies carry rock salt on their vehicles and they started putting it down," the fire chief said.
Firefighters continued to battle hot spots creeping along the roof at the back of 233 at 10:30 a.m.
About noon, firefighters found the cat that had run out of 233 Coal St. It was hiding underneath a home at 235 Coal St.
"It's all singed up," Bowman said as he wrapped it in a blanket. Walsh tried to help the cat breathe by covering its nose with an oxygen mask.
Firefighters then rushed the cat to Schuylkill Veterinary Hospital at 1170 Route 61, Pottsville, which is privately owned by Dr. Sara Thornton.
At 3 p.m., Cathy Lishman, the hospital's manager, said the cat, a female tabby, is "critical but stable."
Dr. Lora Mengle, a veterinarian, cared for the cat when she was brought in. The hospital does not know the cat's owner but Mengle said anyone with information can call 570-622-1098.