A stiff wind carried the scent of burnt wood for miles down Doubling Gap Road in Newville Tuesday night as firefighters put out the last embers in what was once Dianne Allen's attic.
Allen, a short, thin woman with red-rimmed eyes and a damn-it-all sense of humor sat in her truck toward midnight watching men in yellow and tan fire suits toss her ruined possessions out of the smashed windows of her home in the 800 block of Doubling Gap.
In spite of it all, she shook her head wearily and laughed as her charred bathtub hit what was left of her flower garden with an earthy crash.
"There goes the tub!" she crowed. "And I'd just bought some bleach to clean it out, too. Everything I bought tonight I bought to clean the house, and now I've lost it all."
Allen's trip to Walmart Tuesday night will long live in her memory. She recalls banking the wood stove in the back bedroom before leaving just after 7 p.m., then turning off the washing machine and lights. Her two sons and husband were out for the night, she said.
"So I took advantage of that to go to Walmart and get some paint," she said as yet another crash announced the firefighters' discovery of a blackened bed frame. "So much for that!"
When she returned in 45 minutes, she panicked as she spotted flames leaping from her chimney into the roof from the road. Knowing her sons and husband were safe, her mind quickly turned to the pets, a cat and two dogs.
About 15 minutes later, as the first trucks arrived from Friendship Hose Company of Newville, Allen sat, wide-eyed and still in shock, on the concrete in front of her home. All the pets were safe — the cat ran off to the backyard — but the house was well past saving.
"When we got here about half the house was fully engulfed," said Newville Deputy Chief Buck Bigler. "We had a good amount of fire for probably the first half hour after we arrived."
It didn't take a fire marshal's keen eye to pinpoint the cause of the fire, Bigler added.
"I'm almost certain that it started in that wood stove," he said. "We're calling the state fire marshal just in case they want to come out and take a look tomorrow, but it's clear to us."
Including lost property, Bigler estimated the total damage to the house at $150,000 to $160,000.
A Red Cross crew also arrived at the scene and made contact with the family, which ultimately decided to stay with relatives, said Steven Jerasa, a Red Cross spokesman.
"We are providing them with food, clothing and anything else they need," Jerasa added.
Meanwhile, back in her truck, Allen was preoccupied with other thoughts. Even after the full weight of her loss sunk in and fire crews wrapped up toward midnight, she still had to laugh.
"What else can I do?" she asked helplessly, a half ashamed smile on her face. "I've got to laugh at this. Otherwise I'd just lose it again, and what's crying going to do?"
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