ROYALTON, Pa. (WHTM) — A Dauphin County home has been deemed a total loss following a fire Sunday morning.
“I was sitting in the living room, watching tv with my brother-in-law, smelled smoke and looked out the door and it was just pitch black,” said Joe Meek. “Couldn’t see nothing.”
That’s when reality set in and Meek discovered his neighbor’s house, on Juniata Street in Royalton, was engulfed with flames.
“I’ve never been that close to a fire before; I thought we were on fire,” he added. “I tried to grab up the dog and everything.”
Minutes later, the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene.
“We were dispatched just before 9:00 in the morning for a kitchen fire in the borough of Royalton,” said fire chief, Kenny Whitebread. “At that point, crews began an attack on the fire. First alarm was struck, bringing in additional manpower and resources.”
Whitebread told abc27 News, crews battled the fire for just about three hours – as they ran into some obstacles that aren’t uncommon this time of year.