Fire destroyed a Washington Township home Friday evening its two residents were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, fire officials said.
Multiple fire departments responded to the blaze at 423 Hoover Drive around 7:20 p.m.
Township Assistant Fire Chief Bob Baustert said a father and his adult son were reportedly cooking on the back deck when the house caught fire.
Township Patrolman Nate Rigatti said the father and son got out safely and there were no injuries to emergency responders.
He said crews responded to a similar incident at the house five years ago, but that fire did not spread as aggressively as the one Friday night.
Bausert said natural gas fueled the flames, but he did not comment on exactly what happened.
Crews still battling hotspots and smoke as of 9 p.m.
The firefighter attack included a ladder truck, a crew at the curb facing the house with a hose and in nearby tanker truck, all spraying onto the house, which began to collapse during the incident.
A nearby house sustained smoke and heat damage, but the house did not catch fire, as early emergency radio transmissions indicated.
Baustert said strong winds pushed flames toward both houses that flanked the fire scene, causing heat damage to both.
Toni Bahnak and her husband, Jerry, live on Jackson Drive, one street away from the burning house in the Washington Acres housing plan.
“My neighbor next door sent me a text that said look out your front door: a house is on fire,” Toni said standing next to one of the many fire trucks on scene.
“It was really involved at that point. It was after that, I saw the firetrucks come.”
She said she has lived in the plan for about 37 years and it’s usually a quiet neighborhood. She said she knew the pair that lived inside the home and hopes they are both OK.
