Photo by Curt Werner

Two adults and three children escaped safely from a second story window during a house fire in the 400 block of E. Mt. Airy Road, Monaghan Township, early Monday morning Feb. 4. In photo, smoke billows out of the structure as a fireman enters to put out hot spots.

Family’s escape from home fire hailed as miracle

Marie Chomicki

Two adults and three children escaped safely from a second story window after their house caught fire early Monday morning in Monaghan Township. When firefighters arrived, they found homeowners Dan and Kelly Boyle in the midst of trying to save their children.

Steve Cosey, deputy chief of Monaghan Township Fire Company, said it was his understand- ing that one of the adults jumped out of the window of the home at 400 E. Mt. Airy Rd. while the other stayed near the opening and handed down the children.

“As I pulled in, the last kid was coming off the porch roof and flames could be seen flickering through a downstairs window,” said Frank Wirth, III, with Monaghan Fire Company who was the first firefighter to arrive on the scene.

Wirth said the woman was still on the roof, and he asked her to stay put until the ladder truck, which was expected momentarily, arrived so she could safely come down by a ladder. “I didn’t want her to injure herself,” he said.

Wirth donned an airpack given to him by an Upper Allen firefighter and entered the house through the front door to apply dry chemicals to the main fire. He thought it was out, but the fire flared back up in his face.

When the Monaghan fire truck arrived, he went back in with his Dad, Frank Wirth, Jr. “ We pulled the line off, walked inside with the hose hitting the ceiling and the whole room,” he said.

“Everybody is extremely lucky to be alive,” Wirth III said. “Smoke was banked down to my knees, so it must have been burn- ing for a while,” Wirth III said. “The upstairs was filled with smoke and was hot with melted plastic.”

Photo by Curt Werner

Emergency crews assess the situation after a three-car pile up on Rt. 15 on Feb. 3. at 11:23 a.m.

Accident sends three to hospital

Carroll Township Police were dispatched to Rt. 15 North and North Baltimore Street for a crash involving three vehicles on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 11:23 a.m. A tractor trailer, operated by a Jerome Tift, 54, of Marathon, N.Y. was traveling north on Rt. 15 in Dillsburg Borough and when he failed to stop for traffic that had stopped for the light at the intersection of Rt. 15 and North Baltimore Street. Tift struck the rear of a Honda minivan, operated by a Sw Tsen Hsu Kuo, 75, of Mechanicsburg. The truck then pushed the Honda into the rear of Toyota minivan operated by a Christy Arentz, 41, from Biglerville. Both minivan drivers as well as a passenger in the Honda were transported to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Photo by Curt Werner

Michael Ginder finds the other side of the basket, scoring two points against Big Spring's JT Kuhn.

Polar Bears win Colonial title

Joe Guty

In a fitting tribute this past Tuesday on Senior Night, the Northern H.S. Boys Varsity Basketball team displayed their signature combo of hustle and teamwork to fend off Boiling Springs H.S., 55- 51. Moving to 18-2 overall, the Polar Bears also claimed the 2018-19 Mid Penn Colonial Division title as they ended the league campaign at 11-1. “We set goals at the beginning of the season and the number one goal was to win the Colonial,” said head coach Kyle McGill. “In the preseason, we were predicted to be the top team by the league coaches and we talked about living up to that this year-I think we did a really nice job. We also wanted to defend our home turf and we were undefeated at home, that’s big for us, and it doesn’t usually happen.”

Photo by Curt Werner

Pictured from left are Northern's diving coach Kelly Finkey, fourth place winner Arabella Sheriff and swimming coach Bill Resser.

Sheriff takes 4th place; Polar Bears move on to CV

Joe Guty

Arabella Sheriff represented Northern H.S. in outstanding fashion this past Monday as she earned a fourth-place medal at the Mid Penn Class AA Diving Championships (at Big Spring H.S.). The freshman posted a score of 282.55 and her inaugural Mid Penn Championships performance was a pleasant surprise. “We believed she could place in the top five,” said Northern Diving coach Kelly Finkey. “However, we would be proud of her regardless where she placed. Arabella was surprised with fourth place!”