MOOSIC, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Just before dawn on Saturday, January 3, a call for help quickly escalated into a major emergency, leaving a two-and-a-half-story, wood-framed Moosic home in ruins.

The intense flames prompted a multi-department response, including the Greenwood Fire Department, Old Forge Fire Department, Excelsior Hose Company No. 2 of Duryea, Avoca Fire Department, Taylor Fire Rescue, and Scranton firefighters.

As firefighters from seven departments rushed to the scene, 75-year-old homeowner Marty Ozack managed to escape the burning house.

I spoke with his son, Nick Ozack, who shared what that terrifying morning looked like—and what the home once meant to their family.

“It was like an old coal miner’s house. He’s had it for about 35 years, 40 years. When he went to sleep that night, he heard the smoke alarm going off. And then he got up, and he tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but he couldn’t do nothing. So, he just grabbed a couple of things, walked out. He walked down to the local fire department. And then he told them, they went there. Then he went to go stay at Schaffer’s Bar in Moosic, from the pictures that you might have seen,” said Ozack.

Fortunately, Marty Ozack escaped the fire without injury. His son, Nick, said he’s currently staying with a local friend in Moosic as he works to get back on his feet.

“He’s doing incredibly fine. The best that could ever happen. From insurance, he’s basically living free right now from it, and above the Schaffer’s bar there. He’s a little shaken up from it after his house burning down. But other than that, he’s doing really well,” said Ozack.

With everything lost in the fire, Ozack’s family is reaching out to the community for support as Marty plans for what comes next.

“The GoFundMe we made is to help him get back on his feet, because being at such an old age, and after losing everything all at once. So that’s why we kind of started it for him to have clothes and essentials. Maybe to rebuild a new house. That’s why I made the GoFundMe,” said Ozack.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.