ELK TOWNSHIP – A man died in a house fire Sunday morning in Elk Township, according to Shippenville-Elk fire Chief Steve Merryman.
The 382 Buckhorn Road home was fully engulfed with flames when firefighters arrived at the blaze, which was reported at 5 a.m., Merryman said.
Two people inside the building escaped, but the man went back inside to fight the fire and didn’t come back out, according to what Merryman said he was told at the scene.
The chief said firefighters had to wait for a power line that was arcing in front of the house to be shut off before attempting to extinguish the house fire.
“It didn’t really affect us because the fire was so spread… it really didn’t make a difference,” Merryman said.
The single-wide trailer with several small additions and a garage were all completely destroyed, he said.
A cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed by state fire marshal investigations, but Merryman said an electrical fire from a short in the garage is suspected.
Volunteer fire departments from Knox, St. Petersburg, Washington and Strattanville, along with Shippenville Ambulance, also responded, Clarion County 911 said, and Emlenton Volunteer Fire Department was on standby.
The scene was cleared in about eight hours, according to 911.
