SHENANDOAH - A man was flown to a hospital with burns he received Sunday morning when flames destroyed the 312 W. Columbus St. home in which he and his family lived.
The 9 a.m. fire also left eight people homeless and damaged three homes, fire officials said.
Christopher Rovinski was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest with burns to his hands, face and feet, Shenandoah police Patrolman Kirk Kirkland said.
The man's wife, Rose, and his three children, were not injured.
Chrissy Price, 310 W. Columbus St., and Alexandra Kutevska, 314 W. Columbus St., also were not injured. Their homes, however, had fire damage.
Kutevska's daughter, Lubica Kutevska, was not home at the time of the fire.
Kirkland was one of the first at the scene when alerted by the Schuylkill County Communications Center.
"The flames were already coming from the second floor windows and everyone was out of the house," he said.
Firefighters worked for about 30 minutes to bring the flames under control, keeping most of the fire damage to the 312 W. Columbus home, owned by Robert Mummey, Shenandoah Heights.
Standing across the street watching fire engulf his property, Mummey said the main thing is that Rovinski and his family were able to escape.
"As long as everyone got out, that's the important thing," he said. "The building is insured."
Alexandra Kutevska said she left her home shortly before the fire was discovered.
"I left the house one hour ago and everything was OK. It all happened so quick," she said.
Price stood across the street worrying about two pet cats who were still inside her home. She also said that nothing appeared out of the ordinary before a neighbor banged on her door to alert her of the fire.
Shenandoah police Chief Joseph Hall, who is also a fire investigator, said the cause of the blaze is under investigation and that a state police fire marshal will be called in to assist in finding the cause.
Firefighters from Shenandoah, Mahanoy City and West Mahanoy Township responded to the call along with ALS and EMS units from Shenandoah, Frackville and Mahanoy City.
Shenandoah fire police assisted with crowd control at the scene and also with detouring traffic around the fire.