House Fire Chases Couple, Pets into Frigid Cold

The fire that broke out shortly after 7:00 a.m. chased Brianne Derhammer and her boyfriend into single digit temperatures. They say something went wrong while trying to stay warm. "We woke up because we had a heater on and that's all we had on and the breaker kicked so we were cold," said Ms. Derhammer. She looked at her second floor bedroom ceiling and spotted the first flames. "It started in the light bulb like it looked like the light was still on but obviously it wasn't." After that, the couple's survival instincts immediately kicked in. "We got our dogs and got out," said Ms. Derhammer.

Despite firefighters confining the flames to the second floor and attic, the entire house has some significant damage. "There's quite a bit of water damage on the first floor only because everything we're putting into that attic and second floor is just cascading down," said Shavertown Fire Chief Gary Beisel. As firefighters picked away at was was still burning inside the house they were also conducting a search trying to find the tenants' little kitten. "Timmy (the kitten) is just 12 weeks. That's why we're hoping he's okay. He's only this big," said Ms. Derhammer as she separated her hands several inches apart. "We're still just looking for the cat in the basement and things. We haven't found the cat as of yet," said Mr. Albrecht. "We can't find the cat. It's possible it's hiding somewhere. Cats are kind of resilient," said Chief Beisel.

The kitten was eventually found safe on the second floor of the home. Meanwhile, the man who owned the house was waiting for an insurance adjustor to determine if the house could be salvaged. The displaced couple spent the midday hours trying to salvage what they could from the fire-damaged home before seeking shelter with family.