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Family of six in Masury loses house, pets

032217...R HOUSE FIRE 2...Masury...03-22-17...A house at 931 Judson Ave. in Masury is heavily damaged by fire Wednesdqy morning...Workers were on scene boarding up the structure...The house next door, on right, also sustained damaged...By R. Michael Semple

MASURY — A family of six lost their home and four pets in a house fire Wednesday.

The fire occurred around 9 a.m. at the home of Matthew and Samantha Penwell at 931 Judson Road SE, and was reported at 9:13 a.m. by Samantha’s father, Tom Hutchinson, who lives next door.

Hutchinson said there was black smoke coming out of the windows, although he told 911 dispatchers that he didn’t believe anyone was home because the family’s cars were not there and he couldn’t see anyone inside. The family, which also includes four children, had several animals that Hutchinson said he couldn’t see either, according to the 911 call.

“There’s black smoke coming out of the house everywhere,” Hutchinson said during the call.

He tells the dispatchers several times to “please hurry.”

A few minutes later, Samantha Penwell called 911 to report the blaze, but she was crying hysterically and was hard to understand.

Brookfield fire Chief Keith Barrett said fire departments from Brookfield, Sharon, Hubbard, and Vienna responded and there were probably 20 firefighters at the scene. The state fire marshal responded as well.

“About a half hour after the call, the fire was declared extinguished,” Barrett said.

It was later determined the family’s six pets were inside during the fire, and four died, including one dog and three cats. However, Barrett said, a dog and a cat survived.

He said the family had left about 20 minutes before the fire started.

The Red Cross is helping the family with clothing and a place to stay since the Penwells lost most, if not all, of their possessions in the fire.

“The house is pretty much a total loss,” Barrett said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Barrett said they believe it started on the first floor.

ddye@tribtoday.com

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