Fire displaces family

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REEDSVILLE - Reedsville resident Zach Vogt had just woken up around 10 a.m. on Thursday and headed to the bathroom, never suspecting that while he slept, a fire was building in the ceiling of his home.

Vogt and his family were displaced after the fire significantly damaged their home on Greenfield Drive in Reedsville. Vogt lives with his mother Kelly Phillips and brother Jared in the middle unit of three connected townhouses.

"I noticed the air vent in the floor of my bathroom was smoking ... I went downstairs and my mother said that none of the lights in her bathroom would turn on," Vogt said, not certain if the electrical problem was related to the fire. "When I went back upstairs, I could smell something and that is when I looked up in the ceiling fan and could see the fire."

Vogt said he could hear the fire as it was spreading in his home.

"What I thought was running water was actually the fire crackling," Vogt said.

Vogt said when he realized his home was on fire, he ran next door to where his grandmother lives in a connected townhouse and was able to help her also get out of her home while his mother waited for firefighters to arrive. Vogt said his brother Jared was not home at the time of the incident and that his stepfather, who also normally lives in the home, also wasn't at home as he is serving with the military in Iraq.

Area fire companies worked with limited staff on Thursday morning to douse the flames, which Milroy Fire Company Chief Jason Wolfgang confirmed likely started in the ceiling of the home.

Wolfgang said several of the fire companies were experiencing a shortage of available firefighters and were having a difficult time getting enough units to the scene to control the fire. Even with a shortage of manpower, the flames were under control within half an hour, Wolfgang said.

Vogt said he was notified that after the fire investigators completed their report and the structure was deemed sound, their family would be able to go through the home to see if they can salvage any items. Vogt said he and his family were not able to grab any personal items as they left their burning home.

Vogt said he has never experienced anything like this before and his first reaction was to get the other members of his family and their pets to safety.

Wolfgang said he thinks the Vogt-Phillips home is a total loss but was uncertain if the other two units sustained significant damage. Wolfgang added that the American Red Cross was notified of the incident and will be providing assistance to the family.

Reedsville, Milroy, Burnham, Yeagertown, Highland, United, City Hook and Ladder, Junction and Belleville fire companies along with Milroy and Fame EMS responded to the scene.