Fatal fire victim identified
CENTRAL CITY ― Somerset County Coroner Cullen Swank has identified the person who was fatally injured in a house fire in Central City early Sunday as 79-year-old Lawrence Bumbera.
The cause of death will take up to six weeks to determine, Swank said. Two other people were taken to Conemaugh Memorial Hospital for medical treatment, state police said.
The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Unit said the origin and cause of the fire is still under investigation. No indications of foul play were found.
Central City, Hooversville, Scalp Level, Windber, Stoystown and Shanksville fire departments, along with Conemaugh, Northern and Stoystown EMS were dispatched for the 12:25 a.m. fire at 728 Broad Ave., in which three people were reported to be trapped. At around 4:45 a.m., the fatality was confirmed.
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Central City Fire Chief Dale Russian said fire was coming out of the front door of the home when firefighters arrived. He said two of the people were outside the house, but the third was still inside.
"We tried to get in to locate the person, but within 15 minutes after we got there the second floor collapsed," he said. "The fire burned down through the roof as well. The fire was stubborn. Every time we thought it was down, it would pop up someplace else."
Russian said the freezing early morning temperature didn't help the efforts.
"We had our hands full because of the cold," he said. "It was not the best conditions, everybody was covered with a sheet of ice. It slows everything down because everything turns to ice."
Russian said putting ladders up required double duty because of the ice. They didn't want any of the firefighters getting hurt. Several of the firefighters fell because of the ice, he said, but none of the firefighters reported being seriously hurt.
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Church next door was in danger
Russian said another concern was the Central City Methodist Church is next door. The firefighters worked to try to keep it from catching fire as well. He said there was water damage in the basement.
Russian said the firefighters were able to go into the church to warm up.
"I want to thank all the departments that came and helped," he said. "The church provided coffee for us. Other people brought some chicken and stuff in for us. It was nice to see the contributions from the community."
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Man fatally injured in Central City house fire Sunday
