A Wyomissing Hills home was reduced to ruins and three household pets died late Saturday in a fast‑moving two‑alarm fire, state police said.
Wyomissing firefighters and neighboring departments were dispatched at 11:46 p.m. to the home on Edgedale Court, a cul‑de‑sac off Woodland Road near Wyomissing Hills Elementary Center.
Trooper Corey Heimbach of the Troop L fire marshal unit said:
A neighbor spotted the blaze and called 911, reporting flames spreading rapidly. The first Wyomissing crew arrived to find heavy fire in the rear of the home, prompting a fire officer to request a second alarm.
Firefighters began an interior attack and conducted a room‑by‑room search for occupants but were forced out by intense heat and deteriorating conditions. Crews shifted to an exterior attack and started to gain control, though flames had already extended to the second floor and into wall and roof voids.
Within about five minutes, conditions improved enough for firefighters to reenter the structure. The fire was declared under control within an hour, but crews remained on scene into early Sunday opening walls and ceilings to extinguish hot spots.
Investigators determined the fire originated in a first‑floor rear room, Heimbach said in a release Tuesday. While the cause remains undetermined, he said investigators are confident it was not intentionally set.
No injuries were reported, and firefighters recovered the bodies of a dog and two cats.
The home was deemed a total loss, with damage estimated at more than $400,000.