ECONOMY, Pa. — A fire tore through a home along Freedom Road on Tuesday morning.
Economy Volunteer Fire Department Captain Mathew Books says the crews first arriving on scene weren’t initially sure if anyone was home, but eventually learned the family was out of town.
“That’s one of the biggest reliefs that we got was whenever the police department made contact with one of the neighbors and they said they reached out to the homeowners and found out that nobody was in the house,” Books said. “It’s a giant sigh of relief because you’re trying to work all your operations into, ‘how am I gonna get into the house to make sure everyone is accounted for?’”
Despite the relief, the home is a total loss. Books said nine cats were living inside the home, and all of them are unaccounted for.
Books said the old age of the house made it particularly susceptible to quickly catching on fire.
“It’s an old farmhouse talking to the owner’s father. This is the oldest farmhouse left in this area.”
Books says the State Fire Marshal will be investigating to determine a cause of the fire.
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