SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - No injuries were reported in a late-afternoon fire in Schuylkill Haven on Saturday but the residents are staying elsewhere.
The homeowner alerted police after he heard a smoke alarm beeping at his house at 28 Parkway.
"I heard the smoke alarm going off and I just got out," said Cody Yeich, 25, who escaped with a 1-year-old child. His girlfriend, Sandra Jamison, was not home at the time of the fire.
Smoke could be seen coming from the second floor windows of the home.
Scorch marks were visible on the white exterior of the side of the house.
Yeich said they both were OK.
Jim Reed, chief of Schuylkill Hose Co. No. 2, in the borough said he got the call at 4:43 p.m. about a working fire.
"It seems to be accidental, probably caused by an electrical problem" he said, adding it might have been from old wiring.
He did not have a damage estimate.
The fire was knocked down in about 10 minutes and was contained to one room.
"There's a lot of smoke damage in the upstairs," he said adding there is also water damage in the downstairs.
Reed said Yeich is a firefighter with the Landingville fire department.
The quick thinking of the owner by shutting the door and having working smoke detectors helped, he said.
No firefighters were injured during the fire or because of the hot temperatures, Reed said.
A bank sign in the borough read 102 degrees.
The Red Cross of Schuylkill County was notified and provided assistance to those who lived at the house.
Tim Firestone, readiness and response manager of the organization, said lodging, clothing and food were provided.
Responding to the scene were all three fire companies of the Schuylkill Haven Fire Department, Rapid Intervention Teams from Pottsville with the Humane Fire Company and American Hose No. 2, Schuylkill Haven Police Department responded.