Liberty Hose Co. No. 2 - Incident Detail #2023

A fire occurred at 127 East Market Street in Williamstown, PA, around 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, <date?>, 1974. Living in the three story frame house was Mr. and Mrs. Mark Noel, Mrs. Sarah Dunlop, and Nellie Smith. Mrs. Mary Noel smelled smoke and ran outside to a neighbor, Mr. John Ralph, to call for help. Mark Noel and Nellie Smith, an elderly aunt, escaped through a bedroom window. Unknown to them, Mary re-entered the building to assist Mrs. Dunlop, who was in bed. Mr. Noel and firemen tried to rescue Mrs. Noel and Mrs. Dunlop but were hampered by the intense flames and smoke. Mrs. Mary Noel, age 57, and Mrs. Sarahh Dunlop, age 78, died in the fire. State Police Fire Marshall Trooper Fred J. Klages of the Carlisle Barracks investigated the blaze. Williamstown Fire Chief Fred Heimbaugh said the fire apparently started from an electrical problem. Deputy Coronor Dr. S. E. Herrold, of Lykens, released the bodies of the two women to the J. B. Ralph Funeral Home, of Williamstown. The sixteen room house was declared a total loss, but the nearby properties in the built up area were saved. One other house, owned by John Lentz, was scorched and a hole burned in the attic. Firemen from Williamstown, Orwin, Muir, Lykens, Wiconisco, and Elizabethville fought the blaze. The Tower City fire department provided Scott Airpacs. Ambulances from Tower City and Lykens were on the scene.