Fire Causes Major Damage to Trappe Borough Home

Three residents are uninjured but displaced after a fire severely damaged their home in the 100 block of East Seventh Avenue shortly before midnight Sunday.

Trappe Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Wilfong is investigating the cause.

"It's so early to tell what started it," Chief Brian Long said at the scene after midnight Monday.

Homeowner Jim Zerillo's father, William, was home when the fire broke out. As they waited for the fire companies to arrive, a neighbor tried to help them fight the flames with the aid of a garden hose, Jim Zerillo said.

Three pets--two dogs and a bird--also escaped the blaze unscathed.

When crews arrived at the scene, "There was heavy fire on the ... far side (of the house) against the woods. The whole porch and exterior of the house were involved," said Long. The fire "had stretched around the porch, almost to the front door," he said.

Firefighters had the "bulk of the fire on the outside knocked down" in about 10-15 minutes, Long said. "It took a lot longer (to control the blaze) on the interior and the exterior walls. There was still a lot of hidden fire that we were putting out."

Once the fire was extinguished, the far-side wall on the lower level of the house was destroyed; the upper level also suffered major damage.

Total Restoration Contracting, of Limerick, started the board-up process, Long said. He couldn't guess as to when the house would be inhabitable again.

"That whole side of the house will have to be rebuilt," he said.

In the meantime, "an exterior tank of propane that was not involved was shut off," Long said. "PECO has shut off the power; we're overhauling the outside and the interior."

, , , and fire companies were at the scene. Trappe EMS was also among the responders.