SHENANDOAH A stubborn fire left five people homeless Tuesday morning, including a woman who lived in her South Grant Street homestead.

Firefighters were called at 10:07 a.m. to 112 S. Grant St. for a report of a structure fire with entrapment and met by heavy fire coming from the rear of that unoccupied home.Firefighters from Shenandoah and surrounding communities worked for about 1 1/2 hours to bring it under control but not before it spread to the home of Debra Ann Franz Krusinsky, 114 S. Grant St., the home she grew up in.The fire then traveled in the opposite direction, destroying a vacant home at 110 S. Grant St. and then a home at 108 S. Grant St. owned by Glen Patterson.That home is occupied by Michael Silks, his wife, Mary, son, Tyler Knapp, and Audrey Oswald, sister to Mary Silks.Shenandoah fire Chief Russ Schumack said arriving units were met with heavy fire to the rear of the 112 S. Grant St. property."We had a lot of fire and heavy smoke," he said.Although the initial call came in about a fire with entrapment, the chief said it was quickly learned the building was not occupied.Franz Krusinsky was not at home when the fire started, however, borough police were able to rescue a pet dog, a pug and beagle mix named Simba, from inside her home.It was not immediately known if Silks or members of his family were home when the fire was discovered.Franz Krusinsky was at work at a local grocery store when she got word that there was a house fire in her neighborhood.She rushed to her 114 S. Grant St. row home to find flames spreading from an unoccupied house next door at 112 S. Grant St., which was the former home of her late uncle.Franz Krusinsky's brother, Michael, said he was surfing Facebook at his home in another part of town when he saw a post that homes in his family's neighborhood were on fire.Another brother, Ed, rushed to the scene from his home in Shenandoah Heights."It's all our old homestead," Ed said as he stood on the ice-slicked roadway watching firefighters battle the blaze.His maternal grandparents originally lived in the home Debra now lives in, he said. His mother moved into the home after his grandparents passed away. His uncle lived next door. And he and his siblings grew up in the adjoining home, Ed said.Although all four homes sustained extensive damage, the siblings expressed gratitude to firefighters who salvaged from inside the house memorabilia from their father's service in World War II."They got my dad's war medals and his flag," Debra said as she stood shivering in the frigid air with tears welling up in her eyes. In her shaking hands, she clutched two old photographs one of her father, Edward W. Krusinsky, at the age of about 10, and one of her dad in uniform with his army comrades.Among the elder Krusinsky's salvaged army medals were a prisoner of war medal, a purple heart and a bronze star.Tethered with a make-shift leash made of rope, Debra held Simba close as the dog wagged its tail and pranced with excitement watching firefighters work to extinguish the fire.Ed looked at his sister, Debra, shivering in the cold and said, "I'm glad she's out, and her dog."Asked where his sister would take shelter in the aftermath of the fire, Ed said, "We don't know yet but we'll take care of her."Debra said she may stay temporarily with her son, Larry.More than 90 minutes after the first alarm, firefighters remained on the roof of the smoldering structures, dousing the stubborn flames with water.Assisting Shenandoah police, fire police, fire fighters and ambulance at the scene were emergency responders from numerous regional fire departments including West Mahanoy Township, Butler Township, Mahanoy City, Frackville, Girardville, Ashland, Nuremberg-Weston and Pottsville.The most extensive damage was centered in the vacant home at 112, in the center of the row.Schumack said he and his department along with state police fire marshal Thomas Finn of the Schuylkill Haven station are investigating the fire but had yet to determine an exact cause.One borough firefighter suffered nonlife-threatening injuries when the fire flashed over inside one of the buildings.Schumack said the firefighter was treated at a local hospital and then returned to the scene. No other injuries were reported, he said.Silks and his family were assisted by the American Red Cross, fire officials said.Distributed by MCT Information Services