Two volunteer firefighters died while responding to a Dec. 7 blaze in West Penn Township.

The men, Marvin Gruber, 59, and Zachary Paris, 36, were members of the Community Fire Company of New Tripoli, and were among the dozens of firefighters who responded to fight the house fire at 1121 Clamtown Road. It was initially reported that a resident was trapped inside the burning home.

Gruber and Paris were pulled from the structure and taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, Miners campus in Coaldale, where they were pronounced dead within minutes of each other.

Autopsies conducted by the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office found that Gruber and Paris died of asphyxia and thermal injuries.

The men’s tragic deaths rocked the community.

On Dec. 8 - the day after the fire - hearses carrying Gruber and Paris left the Schuylkill County’s Coroner’s Office in New Philadelphia bound for the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office in South Whitehall. The Pennsylvania State Police led the procession, which included dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and emergency response vehicles. Folks lined the procession route to pay their respects.

On Dec. 17, thousands turned out for a joint memorial service for the men held at the Northwestern Lehigh Middle School in New Tripoli.

Paris, who served with the new Tripoli fire company since 2010, was a career firefighter with the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Service in Maryland. He leaves behind a wife and two young daughters.

Gruber, a firefighter with New Tripoli since 2020, worked for 22 years at Northampton Community College in the Public Safety Department as the assistant chief of public safety. He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter, and grandchildren.

Two West Penn Township firefighters also suffered injuries while fighting the blaze that began just before 4 p.m.

One of the home’s residents, Christopher Kammerdiener, was found dead behind the house from a self-inflicted gunshot.

The investigation is being handled by the State Police Fire Marshal Janssen Herb, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, West Penn Township Police, and Pennsylvania State Police.