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Elderly couple, still stricken with grief over the loss of their son, loses home in accidental fire

The blaze caused in excess of $100,000 damage, a fire chief said, shown above

By PHILIP A. HOLMES

pholmes@sungazette.com

OVAL – Just three weeks after their son’s death, Walter and Joy Eck lost their home on Route 654 in a fire late Monday night that has been ruled accidental.

The elderly couple safely escaped their one-story Limestone Township home at 7530 Route 654 just moments after flames erupted around their woodburner in their dining room, according to Nippenose Valley Fire Chief Dean Miller.

The Ecks were getting ready for bed when they smelled smoke coming from the room, Miller said.

PHOTOS PROVIDED Volunteer firefighters attack a wall of flames, right, that engulfed the back of the home of Walter and Joy Eck on Route 654 near Oval late Monday night.

“When Joy Eck walked into the room, one wall was on fire,” Miller said.

Dispatched to the property just after 11 p.m., volunteer firefighters arrived to find the back of the house engulfed in flames.

“The couple was standing in a side yard when we got there,” Miller said.

Firefighters from Nippenose Valley, Nisbet, Antes Fort and Jersey Shore were dispatched on the initial alarm.

Two separate crews of firefighters quickly donned self-contained breathing apparatus and attacked the fire with hoses; one crew entered through the front door and another through a second door located on the south side of the house, Miller said.

The bulk of the fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes, but two additional tankers – one from DuBoistown and another from Washington Township – were called to the scene to make sure firefighters had plenty of water, Miller said.

The fire spread to the kitchen, living room and attic before it was extinguished, he said, adding he believed the home was an entire loss. Damage is in excess of $100,000. He said the Ecks have fire insurance.

“We used less than 4,000 gallons of water from our trucks to put the fire out,” he said.

There were no injuries, Miller said.

With early-morning temperatures ranging from the low 20s to the mid-teens, firefighters spent a considerable time back at their firehouses thawing out air packs and hoses that froze during the fire.

Miller said investigators believed the fire likely was caused by sparks from the woodburner, igniting a small pile of firewood stacked next to it.

The Ecks are staying with relatives.

Their 61-year-old son, Patrick, of Williamsport, died two days before Christmas at Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital.

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