NEW RINGGOLD — Firefighters in Blythe Township and the surrounding area are working to figure out what started a fire Saturday afternoon that severely damaged a quonset hut that a local man used for deer processing.
Chad Felty, fire chief of the Walker Township/New England Fire Company, wasn’t sure what caused the smoky blaze at the hut owned by Richard Baver, which is behind Baver’s home at 505 Mountain Road in Blythe Township.
The fire was reported at 3:45 p.m. Responders included firefighters from Kaska, New Ringgold, Tamaqua, Tuscarora and Walker Township.
Felty said the quonset hut is one of a collection of sheds behind Baver’s home.
“When I got here, I saw flames were pouring out of the main shed. There are additional sheds in the back. I’d say four or five of them have been burning,” Felty, who was in charge of the scene, said.
Getting water to the scene was a challenge, since there were no fire hydrants in the immediate area. Firefighters had to travel 3 to 5 miles for water, Felty said.
“This is rural firefighting at its best. We’re getting water from Rosemont Dam and Kunkel’s Dam,” he said.
Just after 5 p.m., there were more than 50 firefighters on scene. One was using a K-12 fire rescue circular saw to cut holes in the metal sides of the quonset hut for ventilation.