Fire damages Beltzville chalet

A large chalet in the Beltzville Lake Estates suffered extensive damage after a fire broke out Monday evening.

Franklin Township fire Chief Lynn Diehl said the fire began shortly after 6:30 p.m. at the home at 830 Lake Drive.

Diehl said the owner arrived home and found smoke pushing out of her front door, and that when she opened it up, it broke out soon thereafter.

“We made a good hit on it,” Diehl said. “They made entry in through the side door, just worked it like any other fire.”

Diehl noted that there was a power outage earlier in the morning, and that when the woman left for work, she was without any power.

Whether that played a role, he was uncertain, but Diehl added that a state police fire marshal was expected to be on scene at some point today to determine the cause.

Diehl said the fire resulted in extensive damage to the inside of the home, and that while there was a lot of damage, the structure is still standing and could be salvageable.

While there were no injuries, he said the homeowner did lose a cat in the fire.

Diehl said firefighters were on scene for about two hours.

“It was a normal fire; everything went well,” he said. “It’s a shame the woman probably lost everything, but the structure’s still there.”

Diehl said also assisting at the scene were the Lehighton, Towamensing, Polk Township, Bowmanstown and Parryville fire departments.