BRANCHDALE - A Thursday morning house fire at 8 Sport Hill Road in Reilly Township, displaced a family of four.
State police at Schuylkill Haven said that fire departments were met with heavy flames coming from the back of the residence and were unable to enter due to the amount of fire.
The Pennsylvania State Police Troop L fire marshal unit determined the cause of the fire was the clothes dryer vent system in the left rear corner room of the residence. The fire then spread up the wall and continued throughout the residence until firefighters were able to detain it. The fire was ruled accidental.
Scot Andrews, 47, who lived in the house, said the washer and dryer were on when he left the house, but his wife, Laura Andrews, said they were new and she wasn't sure how they could have started the fire.
"It has to be totaled, they can't even put the fire out," Andrews said during the fire.
Christopher Swolensky, 41, of Minersville, owns the home.
Andrews said no one was inside the home at the time as she was at work, Scot was in town and her two children were away.
A neighbor called Pam Smith, cousin of Scot Andrews, about 9:20 a.m. Smith then called Scot Andrews to alert him. Smith, one of the first people on the scene, said two firefighters were injured during the fire.
Large amounts of smoke poured out of the building until the fire was put out about 11:30 a.m.
"The smoke was blocking out the sun earlier," bystander Nick Kriston, 16, of Branchdale, said.
Scot and Laura Andrews waited outside with their two dogs in a field near their house while firefighters put out the blaze.
"We're really thankful that the firefighters had our dogs removed before we got here," Laura Andrews said.
Among the companies on the scene were Branchdale, Pottsville, Llewellyn, Minersville, Tremont and Schuylkill Haven.