A Centre Township home was extensively damaged by a blaze that ignited accidentally while the homeowner was killing weeds against the foundation with a blow torch, fire officials said Wednesday.
The front of the home at 220 Archwood Drive caught on fire Tuesday at about 11:30 a.m. while the homeowner was working in the back of the house, said Chief Dennis Kunkel of Central Berks Fire Company, Centerport.
The entire front of the house was on fire when the first crews pulled up to the site, which is about 2 miles west of Shoemakersville.
“It spread pretty fast,” Kunkel said. “It got up the front of the house, in the eaves, the inside wall and the attic,” Kunkel said.
Susan E. Miers Smith – Reading Eagle
Fire crews battled a home fire on Archwood Drive in Centre Township on Tuesday. (Susan E. Miers Smith – Reading Eagle)
Despite a shortage of available volunteer firefighters during the day, the initial crews from northern Berks County managed to stop the spread of the fire within 25 minutes. Water and manpower were needed for an extensive overhaul — a firefighting term for pulling apart roof and wall materials to root out and extinguish hidden fire.
Numerous fire companies, from an area stretching from Mount Pleasant to Deer Lake, Schuylkill County, responded. A tanker brigade was established to shuttle water to the scene.
Kunkel said a state police fire marshal investigated. After speaking with the homeowner, he ruled the fire accidental.
Kunkel didn’t know the specific type of torch that the homeowner was using to kill weeds. An internet search reveals several weed-burning torches available to consumers through retail outlets.
Some are powered by a small propane bottle and boast a flame output of 800,000 BTU for melting ice and killing weeds.
Even with recent rain, however, conditions are too dry to safely use a weed burner, Kunkel said.
The home will need extensive repair, and it wasn’t immediately known whether it can be salvaged, Kunkel said.
The American Red Cross is assisting the homeowner with emergency needs.