A fire Sunday in Wayne Township left three homeless and gutted a house.

However, the icy conditions leading to the fire made fighting it more difficult.

“The road was basically a sheet of ice,” Summit Station Fire Chief Chris Krause said.

He didn’t know who was responsible for the road.

The 10:23 a.m. fire at 44 Blue Mountain Heights had 100 firefighters from 19 fire companies along with EMS responding. Of those, five were from Berks County and the rest from Schuylkill.

Krause was the first to arrive in brush truck, one of three apparatus that would make it to the front of the structure.

“We ended up laying 1500 feet of 5 inch hose,” up a hill, he said.

Tankers were brought in to quench the one-alarm fire because no hydrants exist in the township except at Lake Wynonah. Krause said he called for a second alarm for a tanker task force and requested special assistance for manpower.

Firefighters walked up the hill to fight the fire. Initially, they fought an interior attack until they ran out of water. Defensive operations were then used. No firefighters were injured. The fire was under control in about an hour. Personnel remained on scene until 3:45 p.m.

Upon arrival, Krause said he noticed the porch was on fire. Smoke was pouring from the eaves.

He said the fire is accidental. It started on the porch after hot ashes were left in a container after being taken from a stove. He spoke with the son of the homeowner who was the only person home at the time who said he let ashes sit outside.

He escaped with two small dogs, Patti Daley, disaster services supervisor with the Red Cross Three Rivers Chapter, said.

She identified those affected as Joey and Deidre Angstadt, both 55, and Luke Angstadt, who is in his 20’s. They had insurance.

If weather conditions had been different, they would have been able to get three or four fire engines up there, Krause said. Residents can help firefighters by shoveling out a 3 foot clearance around fire hydrants, he said.