The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

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June 21, 2006

First a swarm of bees, then a fire under the eaves

By Joe Pinchot

WORTH TOWNSHIP — Eric and Debra Jazwinski had already planned to be out of their house for the night because of a swarm of bees.

But an afternoon fire gave them a second reason to stay with relatives.

The swarm, which they first noticed about a month ago, was getting thicker around the eaves of the century-old farm house at 926 Kilgore Road in Worth Township and starting to come into the house, Jazwinski said. The couple had contacted a beekeeper, who put a smoker in the attic to try to drive away the bees.

While Mrs. Jazwinski, whose husband and two children were not home, was gathering things they would need to spend the night away from home when “I heard something and I went into the bedroom and I saw smoke up by the ceiling. I called 911 and got out of the house as fast as I could.”

By the time she got outside, “It got really bad,” she said. “There were flames coming out of the windows, smoke all the way around the roof.”

She called the sight “scary.”

“This house has been in my family for four generations,” she said. “It’s a real shame, I just couldn’t believe my eyes.”

While the Jazwinskis assumed the beekeeper’s equipment must have started the fire, Sandy Lake Fire Chief Dave Knauss said the timing was a coincidence.

Knauss said he is not sure of the cause of the blaze, which was called in at 2:53 p.m., but is looking at electrical. He said he would consult with a state police fire marshal.

The chief said the fire already had poked a hole in the attic when firefighters arrived, which made their job easier.

“We pushed it right out the hole,” he said.

The two main floors sustained smoke and water damage, although firefighters covered furniture to try to protect it.

Jazwinski said he had spent about two years remodeling the home, including putting on new siding and a porch roof.

“Would’ve been almost done,” he said, calling the sight of the fire damage “shocking, surreal almost.”

Those pesky bees returned to the house after the fire, flying around the hole in the attic.

Pine Township, Jackson Center and Grove City firefighters assisted.

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