Around 8:30 AM on Wednesday, February 3, Monroe County (PA) 9-1-1 dispatched units to the Blakeslee Inn & Restaurant on Route 940 in Tobyhanna Township for a commercial fire alarm. Soon after, reports of a structure fire began to come in.
Crews arrived to find a working fire in a large motel with restaurants inside. Extra assistance was immediately requested. Firefighters throughout Monroe County were brought in as well as crews from Carbon, Luzerne, and Lackawanna Counties.
Tobyhanna Township Ladder 2 was on the scene in the front of the building using an elevated master stream while Lake Harmony Ladder 17 was set up in the rear. Tobyhanna Township Rescue 3 was the primary engine on the “C” side of the building pulling a draft from two portable ponds. Albrightsville Rescue 1651 was the primary engine supplying Ladder 2 while a White Haven engine was also drafting out of ponds in the front of the building and supplied an elevated master stream by Freeland Ladder 136 who was on the “A” side.
At the height of the fire, crews were hampered by strong winds and torrential downpours. A tanker task force was requested out of Luzerne County, and before 1:00 PM, the fire was brought under control. The equivalent of 6 or 7 alarms were called including 25 tankers.
JC Kriesher
JC Kriesher photo
JC Kriesher photo
JC Kriesher photo