Gazette contributor Q has passed along info on helping to the family whose home in Blue Meadows Farm was destroyed by fire Saturday. Send donations to: Shirk Family Relief Fund 319 Terrace Rd Mt Joy, PA 17552 ____ Source Link

A family in Blue Meadows Farm housing community lost their home early this morning in a fast-moving fire, according to a news brief published online by The Patriot-News. Dauphin County dispatched Linglestown Fire Company for a deck fire early in the 1 am, but crews arrived to find a well-involved two-story house, according to a news brief on the fire company's Web site. Firefighters worked the fire scene for about nine hours. Gazette contributor Q sent me this exclusive Q-Tip: A passerby spotted a fire on a house deck on J K Drive and banged on windows to warn the family. They tried to put out the fire, but flames spread to a grill and caught the tank. The family was not injured, but their dog could not be rescued. The cars survived, but they don't have anything – no wallet, no keys, no credit cards, nothing left. The local American Red Cross chapter is putting them up in a hotel for two nights. The family is a younger couple with two children ages 2 1/2 and 1. My wife and I talk with them on occasion while walking or at the playground. Our neighbor is going to put together a flyer asking for donations. Triple Crown Corporation, the developer of Blue Meadows Farm, has offered the family a townhouse in the development and is willing to furnish it for them. (The arrangement is contingent upon the home insurer's approval.) ____ A Gazette reader spotted the fire as he was leaving Blue Meadows Farm and shot 10 minutes of video that is now posted on YouTube.

Updated at 10:25 am ... * More on yesterday's house fire on Catherine Street in Linglestown; Linglestown Gazette had on-the-scene coverage thanks to contributor Kim Mumper. It sounds like the family who suffered the loss of their home has received an outpouring of help to begin the long journey to regain normalcy in their lives. A restoration contractor was at the home Monday by noon, boarded the windows, pumped out the three feet of water in the basement and put a huge tarp over the whole house. The building is concrete block under siding, so once they clear out the fire debris, if the block walls are sound, they can rebuild. The contractor said they could do the restoration in four months if all goes well. Happily the family's cat survived with minor injuries and was treated by a vet. – Hat tip to Gazette contributor Jay Mumper for passing along the above update. * CD band gives back. (Story includes a video report.) * Sad story of newborn's death in LP. The preliminary hearing for this case is scheduled for Sept. 19 before District Judge Joseph Lindsey, according to LP police. Background info * CD school board picks Berkheimer to collect earned income taxes. ____ This post will be updated through the day as items from outside sources are spotted.

A fire early this morning on the 6200 block of Catherine Street in Linglestown has totally destroyed a home, according to Gazette contributor Kim Mumper. The owners of the home were at work, but their son was sleeping in the basement. He got out of the house unharmed, but the family's cat may have perished in the blaze. A neighbor, who called 911, heard a popping sound and then spotted flames shooting from a window. I briefly visited the scene during the 8 am hour and fire crews from Linglestown, Paxtonia, Colonial Park and Susquehanna, Swatara and West Hanover townships were in the closing stages of their operations. Smoke was still coming out of the house. For more details, check out a news brief filed by The Patriot-News. ____ You can join the growing list of Gazette contributors by calling 512-0722 to report breaking news. Photo credits: Top photo by BB; photo in text by Kim Mumper

Gazette reader Justin Gensimore was kind enough to pass along this exclusive eyewitness account of Wednesday night’s blaze along Blue Mountain Parkway. Justin, good stuff and welcome to the world of citizen journalism!

I would like to provide [Gazette readers] with some details as I was on my way home and live in the Blue Meadows Farm development. The building [that burned] is situated behind a line of trees and the "driveway" leads directly to the Parkway. It is about 100 feet after the entrance to the development. If you were to be at the end of Saint Thomas Blvd (Blue Meadows Farm Developments exit), you can see some charred remains. It would be northwest (or about 2 o'clock) of your position at the stop sign. As I understand it, the building was vacant and the electricity was disconnected over a year ago. Also, it is a big deal for high school students to adventure into this old farmhouse. When I arrived, there were at least 10 fire engines on the scene with even more arriving by the minute. It was a big fire with plumes of smoke rising to the extent of a forest fire. Cheers to the local volunteer firefighters for doing an outstanding job.

Lower Paxton police consider the fire to be suspicious in origin. Anyone with any information about the fire is encouraged to call the police at (717) 657-5656 or the Lower Paxton Tip Line at (717) 635-2606. For more info, check out a video report from WHP-TV 21 that features comments by Linglestown Fire Chief Bill Payne. Also, the fire company's Web site has a summary of the fire call and photos.

Fire gutted a home Wednesday afternoon at 6024 Larue Street, which is located beside the house that was the site of a shooting last month. The owner, M. Neuer, discovered the fire upon returning to the house around 3 pm. Linglestown firefighters believe the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction. Most of the owner’s personal possessions were ruined and some cats may have perished. Red Cross volunteers were on the scene to help the owner obtain temporary lodging. View Larger Map