Flames Engulf House in Lower Saucon

UPDATED: This story was updated at 2:50pm with information provided by Patch freelancer Margie Peterson, and again at 5:45pm with information gathered at the scene and from the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

Firefighters battled a three-alarm house fire in Lower Saucon Township today, scanner reports indicate.

Reported at about 11am on Friday morning, the two-story stone dwelling in the 1400 block of Saucon Meadow Court was reportedly engulfed in flames.

Saucon Meadow Court is in a residential area located between Colesville and Black River roads, east of Route 378.

At least three local fire departments with multiple hose lines were on the scene and battling the blaze shortly after noon, radio chatter indicated, although no injuries have been reported.

As of 12:23pm it was reported via a breaking news alert that the majority of the fire had been knocked down. Crews were still on scene at that time and engaged in "exterior attack," the alert from the Breaking News Network indicated.

According to Northampton County property records, the owners of the house are Richard and Colleen Baker.

Jack Dowling, a neighbor who lives across the street from the Bakers, said he saw the fire in the garage and then heard a couple of small explosions that might have been propane tanks. The home was soon engulfed in flames.

“It looked like a Hollywood set,” Dowling said.

He said he wasn’t sure if Colleen Baker was home at the time, but everyone got out safely, including the couple’s Labrador retriever. Dr. Baker arrived home after the fire started.

Numerous trucks and dozens of firefighters responded to the scene, including volunteers from all the Saucon Valley companies and others from as far away as Hanover Township, Springtown and other Upper Bucks brigades.

volunteers led by chief Thomas Barndt were still at the scene of the blaze shortly after 4pm, although some were heading back to the nearby fire station at that point.

Representatives from the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley also responded to the scene, and the organization announced in a press release that it had provided the Baker family with clothing, food and toiletry items.

The four adults displaced by the blaze will be staying with friends or relatives, the Red Cross said.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and damage estimates are not available, although there was speculation that the home may be a total loss.