VIDEO/PHOTO: A Salem Township family lost their entire home Tuesday after a fire that started while the homeowner was using a propane torch to burn weeds in his yard. The fire quickly spread from vegetation to the house, leaving the structure a total loss despite the efforts of firefighters from multiple counties.
“Unfortunately, he lost the entire house,” said Fire Chief James Rachwal. According to Rachwal, the fire department received a call around 2:39 p.m. reporting brush on fire near a house. “He felt that pesticides were a little more invasive than he’d like so he went to use the torch to burn off some of the weeds and leaves underneath his deck and what we believe happened is it caught the vegetation on fire which then lead to a bush that was nearby the house, which then spread up the back of the house hitting the vinyl siding and then entering the interior of the house,” Rachwal said. The homeowner told us over the phone that he believes there was a malfunction with his water system, which is connected to WiFi, that prevented him from controlling the fire before it spread.
