Bags with clean clothes came out of Lori Murphy’s car and landed on Amy Cusick’s front porch in West Scranton.
A donation meant for some of the people left with nothing after Saturday’s deadly house fire.
“This was such a tragic fire, but a blessing because the people are alive and the clothes and all could be replaced,” said Lori Murphy, Dickson City.
Videos shared with Newswatch 16 and others posted across social media show the intensity of the blaze.
“When the pictures started roaming on Facebook, I just. Your heart just breaks in that moment. Like, I can never put myself in that moment,” said Amy Cusick, Christmas Miracles from Heaven.
Through her nonprofit, Christmas Miracles From Heaven, Cusick spent the days following the fire collecting essentials to pass along to those now without a home or any belongings. “Yesterday was like a revolving door here. I couldn’t even sit down. Every time I sat down, there was a knock at my door. There was brand new items being brought for the families, um, clothes, shoes, um, shampoos, conditioners, soaps,” she said.
Cusick is working to help one of the families affected by the weekend’s fatal fire. Authorities say the cause is still under investigation.
“That fire was so progressed before our crews even got called. They were kind of up against it once they got there, but they did a great job trying to limit the damage,” said Chief John Judge, Scranton Fire Department.
Scranton Fire Chief John Judge says the loss of life during a fire is the toughest part of the job.
To prevent a tragedy like this from happening again, he asks homeowners to take steps to stay safe. “Making sure you have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in your homes. Make sure that they’re working properly. If you don’t have them, call us. We’ll come and install them. We’ve had an extremely successful program here of making sure that homes in the city have that availability to have them installed free of charge from our department.”
As the smell of smoke and ash still lingers in the West Scranton neighborhood. Cusick says it will eventually go away things will get better one day at a time. “Now, as this family begins to rebuild, or God forbid, another event unfolds, I hope that our nonprofit can step forward again and help any family in need, and you know, bring some peace in a time of trouble.”
The City Fire Inspector is still looking into the cause of Saturday night’s deadly blaze.
The Scranton Fire Department runs a free smoke detector installation program for city residents.
If you need smoke detectors, are a Scranton resident, and want to join the program, contact Fire Prevention Officer Daniel Frantz at (570) 348-4164 ext. 1 or email smokedetectors@scrantonpa.gov.