KINGSTON, Pa. — The bodies of an elderly woman and her son have been found after Thursday morning's fire in Luzerne County.
Fire crews say the flames spread quickly from one home to another and another and another.
A total of four were affected here on the 100 block of Eley Street in Kingston.
Two gutted were by fire, another was damaged by flames, and siding on a third melted.
"Fire was extending on both sides due to the amount of fire that was showing from the 107/109 side," said Kingston Forty Fort Fire Chief Frank Guido.
Fire crews call it a tragedy. The coroner's office was called, first finding the body of an elderly woman in the home where the blaze began, then continuing to search for her son.
Half a dozen others made it out safely from their homes, telling fire officials they had other places to stay.
"As soon as I came to the scene, first, I came on my back porch about five blocks away, and the whole sky was sparking from power then I came over here and this as unbelievable, this fire never saw anything like it before," said John Rooney of Kingston.
Fire crews say this was a tough battle for them, with flames to fight and no water.
"Almost every hydrant within five blocks we found to be frozen, so we brought tankers in from the Back Mountain to bring us water so we could get the fire under control," said Kingston Forty Fort Assistant Fire Chief Floyd Young. "It's a lot of hydrants frozen which is out of the ordinary, across three municipalities, which is out of the ordinary."
The cause of the deadly blaze now under investigation.
