UPDATE: Perkiomen Township House Fire an Accident, Officials Say

A blaze that gutted a carriage home at 630 Bridge St.--and damaged the neighboring 631 Bridge St.--in Perkiomen Township on Friday will be ruled accidental, according to Fire Marshal John Moran Sr.

No one from either residence was home at the time.

The fire originated outside house at the corner of the deck, Moran said. Although officials cannot--with 100 percent certainty--trace the fire's start to this incident, one of the home's three residents said she was smoking outside before she left for work around 4 p.m. Friday, Moran reported.

Fire crews responded to the scene shortly before 5:30 p.m. after receiving calls from neighbors who spotted smoke pouring from the residence. None of the occupants were home at the time; a neighbor rescued a pit bull from the burning home.

Lorraine Dingley, who lives one street away on Maple Glen Circle said she saw white smoke coming from the house around 5:15 p.m. Dingley and her neighbor Eric Brandon ran to 630 Bridge St., saw the fire outside of the house and heard the dog barking inside. Brandon broke a front window to free the dog, who jumped out and was grabbed by Dingley, she said. The dog was unharmed

The fire triggered a propane tank explosion around that time, and Dingley said the residence was then quickly engulfed. Flames shot up so high that the heat curled and scorched leaves on trees dozens of feet away from the house. The blue sky became obscured by brown, billowing smoke that could be seen at least a half-mile away from the scene.

Firefighters had the blaze under control in about one hour, said Perkiomen Fire Chief John Moran Jr.  Crews were still on the scene a couple hours later, foaming and hosing down the charred, smoldering remains. Small flames continued to flicker on portions of the structure.

Both 630 and 631 Bridge St. suffered fire, smoke and water damage, said Moran Jr. However, 631's damage is less extensive. It is unknown when--if ever--630 will be inhabitable again. Some items--including clothes, shoes, a laptop bag, sports equipment and a dresser--were salvaged, and firefighters carried them out of the home for the residents.

evaluated the firefighters at the scene; according to Moran Jr., only one person was taken to Phoenixville Hospital for further attention.

In addition to and Trappe EMS, , , , , , Worcester, Lower Providence and Limerick fire companies and responded to the scene.
PECO and North Penn Goodwill Service were also there.