A family of four was displaced after a home caught fire Saturday afternoon in the Residence Park area of Palmerton.

Borough fire Chief Jason Behler said firefighters were dispatched at 2:20 p.m. to a single home at 352 Harvard Ave.

“When we first arrived, there was smoke and flames visible from the second floor of the home, and when I did my investigation, I concluded most of the flames appeared to be confined to one room, a bedroom in the back corner of the second floor (room and contents-type fire),” Behler said. “The team made a quick offensive attack by going in the front door up to the second story to make a quick hit on the fire; they also secured a water source (fire hydrant) which was directly in front of the building.

“That team did a phenomenal job of putting a knock on that fire and stopping its growth outside of that room.”

Behler said the homeowner was working on the home replacing a window at the time the fire broke out.

He said there were no injuries to the occupants, and added two dogs and two cats were able to get out of the home.

However, Behler said one firefighter was transported to St. Luke’s Carbon Campus for smoke inhalation, while a second firefighter was transported for heat exhaustion.

“Lehighton Ambulance and Palmerton Ambulance, they did a great job with providing rehab for the firefighters, that was fantastic,” he said. “It was very warm that day, and wearing our protective gear did take a toll on some of the guys.”

Behler said the home suffered a lot of heat and smoke damage on the second floor, and added at least 50% of the home was damaged by either heat, fire or smoke. There was also water damage, but he noted firefighters took a lot of extra measures to make sure further damage wouldn’t be done during the salvage process.

He said the American Red Cross was notified.

Behler said the cause of the fire was accidental, as it was done by the construction being done at home at the time.

He said firefighters had the fire under control within about 35 minutes.

Behler said they were on scene for over two hours.

He said also assisting at the scene were the Bowmanstown Fire Department, Aquashicola Fire Department, and Diamond Fire Company of Walnutport RIT team.

“I cannot speak highly enough about how the departments worked well together; they knew exactly what was needed to be done and got it done quickly,” Behler said. “Although the home was damaged I believe the best outcome for the situation was achieved.”

Unfortunately, he said the room that was involved and suffered the most damage in the fire belonged to a girl who graduated from Palmerton Area High School last month and is going away to college.

A GoFundMe has been started on behalf of Ryan Page.

The fundraiser was organized by Tyler Fahringer of Northampton, who said his girlfriend and her family “are going through the tragedy of a house fire.”

“She was so happy about finishing high school and preparing for college when she got the call that her room had burned down,” Fahringer said. “All of her clothes and personal belongings were lost, and I’d like to raise anything to help her recover.”

As of 9 a.m., $2,870 of the $3,500 goal had been raised.