Amish Families Lose Home To Fire (Path Valley, PA)
A kerosene lamp explosion caused a fire which burned down the home of two families in the Path Valley settlement (Pennsylvania). Here’s how it happened and the fire team’s response, via the Chambersburg Public Opinion:
One of the people in the house was handling a kerosene lamp when it exploded, Hall said. Flames spread. It took a while for someone to reach a neighbor’s house where the call was made.
Everyone was out of the house when firefighters arrived, Hall said. One resident had burns on his face. A MMPW firefighter apparently slipped on a ladder and suffered a minor injury. Both men were treated at the scene and refused further treatment.
Tanker trucks ferried water down a one-lane dirt drive for three-quarters of a mile to reach the house, according to Hall. Two would go down the lane, drop their loads, turn around at an adjoining farm and return before two more could make the trip.
“There was never a continuous flow of water,” Hall said.
Franklin Fire Company’s ladder truck helped knock down hot spots, but crews first had to interrupt operations to get it into position, according to Hall.
Two families suggests this is probably a single home which may have had a dawdi house attached, a common layout for Amish. Or, sometimes two Amish families, not necessarily grandparents, will live in the same structure which has two separate households. The article notes that the home had several additions. It was a three-story log style home (at least in part).
The reporting suggests the challenges faced by rural fire crews. No hydrants available.
The Path Valley community is found in Franklin County in south central PA. This is a settlement of five or six churches in size. Thankfully no one lost their lives in this incident which is of course not always the case.
Thanksgiving Fire Update
Last month brought the sad story of an Amish couple who lost their two year old daughter in a fire on the eve of Thanksgiving. Additionally, 10 Amish people were injured, some severely.
A cause of the fire has been revealed. As Gretchen suggested in the comments, the culprit was a lamp, in this case a “liquid fuel” lamp.
Alternative sources of light and heat are one hazard of being Amish. In most cases they are handled safely but accidents do happen. One example is the tragic death of an Amish woman who died following an explosion while lighting a lamp. Apparently it was a freak situation in which gas had accidentally been mixed with kerosene.
More on Amish lighting.
Grateful for Your Safety
It is easy to say “it’s only a house and personal belongings” when it is someone else’s “Home and Memories”. So, I’ll not insult your family and community by doing so. But the fact that there were, what reads like, relatively minor injuries is a true Blessing.
God bless your Family in the coming days as you begin to rebuild both House and Spirit. Bless and encourage this entire community to care for and assist each other’s efforts.
I know of no other community, even remotely, more capable of accomplishing this Loving Gift to its Neighbors and Families.
In Love,
Steve B
Well said
Very well said Steve, and so very true.
Lamp explosion
Having lived with and occasionally still using both kerosene wick type lamps
and pressurized gasoline Coleman type lanterns, I crave more information about what sort of lamp “exploded” if that is what happened, and what caused it to explode. I hope someone can fill in the blanks. It’s information that may help some of us avoid similar accidents.
Lamp explosion
Having lived with and occasionally still using both kerosene wick type lamps
and pressurized gasoline Coleman type lanterns, I crave more information about what sort of lamp “exploded” if that is what happened, and what caused it to explode. I hope someone can fill in the blanks. It’s information that may help some of us avoid similar accidents of our own.
Good question George, I can’t say conclusively but I can share what I found online. The info below, from Wikipedia, aligns with what apparently happened in the case of the woman who died in a kerosene lamp explosion (gasoline had accidentally been mixed in) in the last link in the post above.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene_lamp
Any liquid with a low flash point presents a high risk of fire or explosion if used in a kerosene wick lamp. Such liquids are dangerous and should not be used in a kerosene lamp or lantern. Examples include:
charcoal lighter fluid,
gasoline (petrol),
naphtha, white gas or Coleman fuel,
mineral spirits, paint thinner, white spirit (Stoddard solvent),
other hydrocarbon solvents such as turpentine, benzene, xylene, toluene, acetone, camphene, lacquer thinner,
denatured alcohol.
Contamination of lamp fuel with even a small amount of gasoline results in a lower flash point and higher vapor pressure for the fuel, with potentially dangerous consequences. Vapors from spilled fuel may ignite; vapor trapped above liquid fuel may lead to excess pressure and fires. Kerosene lamps are still extensively used in areas without electrical lighting; the cost and dangers of combustion lighting are a continuing concern in many countries.[6]
vapor trapped above liquid fuel
Here is a link to a newspaper article on kerosene lamp explosions. It dates from a time when these lamps were a very common form of home lighting.
https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=rocklandctyjournal18840322.2.6&dliv=none&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——-
Highlight and copy and paste it into a browser address line.
It explains how plain kerosene, not even contaminated with gasoline, can develop an explosive cloud of fumes, especially when refilling. Lets pass this around to anyone using these lamps.