Ashland fire destroys several buildings; 2 injured, 8 homeless

The cause of the 10:15 a.m. fire, believed to have started in a home at 1320-22 W. Centre St. has yet to be determined, Ashland fire chief Phillip Groody said.

An occupant of the home, Robert O'Donnell, was rescued from the flames by a neighbor and suffered at least second-degree burns.

O'Donnell was taken to the helipad at St. Catherine's Hospital, Fountain Springs, and then flown to the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest.

A spokesperson at the Lehigh Valley trauma center said O'Donnell was treated and admitted.

Joseph Jordan, 1310 W. Centre St., was inside his home when he was alerted to the fire. Jordan, a Sgt. 1st Class with the Pennsylvania National Guard, ran through the bar area of the Drunken Monkey Bar and Grill at 1312-14 W. Centre St. and pulled Robert O'Donnell from his burning home.

"He was pretty burned up," Jordan said of O'Donnell.

After rescuing the man from the ground floor, Jordan said he worked his way to the second floor of the home and help the man's son, Shawn O'Donnell, out of the burning building.

Shortly after being helped from the building, the younger O'Donnell was taken from the scene by EMS personnel to Saint Catherine's Medical Center Fountain Springs, reportedly suffering from shock or a seizure.

Along with the Drunken Monkey and the O'Donnell home, the fire also severely damaged or destroyed an unoccupied home at 1316 W. Centre. St. owned by Susan and Dirk Moore, also the owners of the tavern; and unoccupied homes at 1318, 1324, 1326 and 1328 W. Center St.

Groody said the property at 1320-22 W. Centre St. was occupied by Robert O'Donnell and neighbors said he lived there with his wife, Virginia, and his son, Shawn.

Susan Moore said she and her husband lived in apartments above the bar along with her parents, Lois and Charles Martinez and another relative, Angelina Martinez.

Susan Moore said she was in the office of her business when she heard her bartender yelling and then saw her dialing 9-1-1.

Looking outside the woman said all she could see is flames.

"There was fire blowing out into the street," Susan Moore said. She said she then saw Jordan running though her business to rescue O'Donnell.

Robert Freed said his mother, Theresa, owns buildings at 1330-1332 W. Centre St. Those unoccupied buildings sustained minimal damage, he said.

"The firemen did a good job, I thought the whole block was going," said Freed who was at the scene as the first fire engines rolled in.

"I was helping them get their hoses connected and flames were shooting right out onto Centre Street ; it just blew," he said. Standing outside of the burned buildings after the flames were brought under control, Groody said a state police marshal will be called to help determine the cause of the fire.

Although several buildings were damaged, the chief said the efforts of firefighters prevented flames from destroying the remaining homes in the block.

"We had a large amount of fire that traveled to the tops of the buildings and then went east and west on us," Groody said.

He said that one of the first to arrive at the scene was an assistant fire chief who reported heavy flames blowing out the front of the O'Donnell property.

Groody said the blaze went to three alarms bringing firefighters from surrounding communities to help as well as volunteers from neighboring Columbia County.