LYKENS - The cause of a fire that claimed the life of a borough woman Sunday night in Lykens, Dauphin County, remains under investigation.
Lykens fire Chief Terry Sherman said investigators think the fire started in the home at 643 Main St. where Patricia Scott, 55, was found.
She was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour and 45 minutes after firefighters arrived just after 10:15 p.m. and found that home and surrounding homes ablaze.
Sherman said he has been in contact with state police fire marshal Trooper Terry Carberry who said an exact cause has not been determined.
"This may take a while," Sherman said.
He said officials are still conducting interviews and reviewing evidence found during their investigation at the scene.
Two other occupants at 643 Main St. - Carrie Ann Husic and her son, Thomas A. Snyder, 12 - were able to escape through a rear, second floor window.
Sherman said both suffered thermal burns and were initially taken to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and then transferred to the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest.
A hospital spokesperson at Lehigh Valley said Tuesday afternoon that both Husic and Snyder remain in critical condition.
Christopher and Teresa Schoffstall lived at 645 Main St. while two apartments at 641 Main St. were occupied - the first floor by Sara Miller and the second floor by Cindy Brezgel.
The Schoffstalls, Miller and Brezgel were able to escape their homes without injuries before the buildings were consumed by fire.
Two additional homes, both unoccupied, at 647 and 649 Main St. sustained lesser amounts of damage, the chief said.
There were no firefighter injuries reported and Sherman said volunteers from Lykens, Williamstown, Gratz, Wiconisco, Elizabethville and Muir responded to the scene along with Medic 6 based in Lykens.