Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Two Firefighters Die in West Penn Township Fire; Body of Third Person Found Nearby

The fire in West Penn Township has turned fatal.

Around 3:45pm, Wednesday, emergency personnel were called to 1121 Clamtown Road/Route 443, West Penn Township, near Tamaqua for a structure fire with possible entrapment.

Firefighters from around Schuylkill and surrounding counties including a tanker task force were called to fight the single home blaze.

Roughly an hour into the incident, two maydays were received from firefighters on the second floor.  The RIT jumped into action and went into the blaze to rescue the two firefighters, who were then transported to the St. Luke's Miners Hospital in Coaldale.

Sadly, both firefighters succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced at the hospital by the Schuylkill County Coroner's Office.  The Coroner's Office has said the firefighters were from New Tripoli.

Additionally, the Coroner's office was called to the scene of the fire after the body of a third person was found near the scene of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

This incident is still very active, and we will have more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE: Identities of Firefighters from Schuylkill County Fatal Fire Released
https://www.skooknews.com/2022/12/identities-of-firefighters-of-west-penn.html