Arcadia Twp. home burns to the ground

Renovations just completed; not insured

ARCADIA TWP. — A labor of love was gone in a flash. Reduced to a pile of rubble in a matter of minutes.

A home in the 2900 block of Slattery Rd. burned Sunday, July 21.

The home, which had been in a months-long process of being renovated by Shelly Keathly and other family members, had recently been completed enough to where the family could move in on July 22.

However, after spending the night before in a camper on property near the home, family members woke up the morning of July 21 and discovered their home gone. Flat on the ground—in a pile of burnt rubble.

Miranda Boerner is helping organize a GoFundMe account for her mother and two younger brothers.

“They were planning on moving in on Monday (July 22) thankfully, they weren’t in the house and hadn’t moved in too many of their possessions yet,” she said. “Everyone in the family had been helping out somehow, to get the house done. So much time was spent in fixing it up, and now, it is gone.”

Boerner said one of her brothers discovered the remains of the home at 7 a.m. on July 22.
“At first, he didn’t know where mom was and thought she was in the house and died. He was pretty shook up.”

Boerner said she was told by the Arcadia Twp. Fire Chief by the time the first trucks got there, they found the home was already on the ground.

“They (investigators) said we can’t even use the same foundation, if we were able to rebuild,” Boerner explained. “The fire burned so hot, it damaged the concrete foundation.”

The home was not insured at the time of the fire, according to Boerner.

Arcadia Twp. Fire Chief Tom Knaggs said, “We got the call from Central Dispatch at 9:46 a.m. When we got there, the house was on the ground, and there was a little smoke coming up. We emptied one tanker on it and that was it. There was nothing left.”

Knaggs, like many others, are struggling to figure out “how not one person saw the fire. No nearby neighbors, passersby, no one. It’s really strange,” he said.

While they still have the majority of their possessions, the family is still processing what to do for a home. They are currently staying in a camper for now.

As of Tuesday of this week, just under $1,000 of a $20,000 goal had been donated to the family through GoFundMe.