The call from the Lehigh County 911 Center came at 10:55 p.m. Feb. 12 summoning Eastern and Western Salisbury firefighters to a dwelling fire at 3064 Lanze Lane. The call came just as a serious snow began falling as part of the storm system that would last into the following afternoon.

Eastern Salisbury Fire Department Chief Dave Tomcics arrived to find flames and heavy smoke pouring from the structure and immediately called for a second alarm that would eventually bring mutual aid assistance from another eight fire companies, three ambulance corps and two fire police units.

Tomcics asked for an additional four tankers to be dispatched on a "first-out" basis to supplement Eastern's tanker, since there were no hydrants in the area of the fire. Eastern firefighters immediately began assembling a pre-fabricated portable "pond" allowing arriving tankers to back up to and discharge their water cargo.

A Western Salisbury engine was positioned alongside the pond to pump a steady water supply to the Eastern Salisbury engine closest to the fire.

While the fire was initially thought to originate near a fireplace chimney, flames infiltrated into the garage and second floor, and an outside deck was fully involved in flames as the first Eastern Salisbury units arrived.

"The initial dispatch was for a dwelling fire," Tomcics said. "Apparently the homeowner called a family member in Catasauqua and said the chimney was on fire. When I arrived there was heavy fire and smoke coming out of the garage door and under the deck."

Firefighters had to battle flames inside a two-car garage that fully enveloped and destroyed two vehicles. Firefighters had to use portable cutting tools to access the garage interior through a locked garage door.

Tomcics said only one occupant was in the home at the time of the fire.

"The homeowner was fortunate, since he was sleeping and the home did not have smoke detectors," Tomcics said.

Lehigh County tax assessment records show the owner of the residence is Almir Raed. He said he would stay with relatives following the fire.

"We were also able to have a fast response since we had the station staffed on standby for the approaching blizzard," Tomcics said. "The portion of the home affected was mainly on the lower floor. The initial interior crew was very aggressive and knocked the majority of fire down. The deck was in the area of the chimney. "

Units from Upper Saucon, Coopersburg, Upper and Lower Milford and Se-Wy-Co assisted with manpower on the second alarm.

A Rapid Intervention Team from Emmaus stood by at the scene in full gear in case an interior firefighter would get in trouble and need to be rescued. Because a large number of firefighters were involved inside the dwelling, Tomcics called for an additional RIT team to respond from Alburtis.

RIT teams receive special training in interior fire rescue techniques. The RIT concept is credited with saving a number of Pennsylvania firefighters who have gotten into trouble since the concept was initiated several years ago.

Tomcics said no firefighters were injured at the scene. A rehab unit from Macungie Ambulance Corps, which is dispatched on all second alarm calls in the southern and western portions of Lehigh County, checked the vitals of firefighters laboring in heavy protective gear and provided hydration and energy bars.

Ambulance crews from Upper Saucon and St. Luke's University Health Network also assisted at the scene.

As incident command officer, Tomcics said he will be investigating with Salisbury Police Sergeant Donald Sabo, the township's fire marshal, to determine the cause of the fire.

A cascade unit from South Whitehall's Woodlawn Station responded to the scene to replenish depleted air tanks from the self-contained-breathing-apparatus used by the firefighters. Tomcics said the fire produced heavy smoke throughout the firefighting effort.

Eastern Salisbury Fire Police and Se-Wy-Co's traffic control unit controlled access to the area which contains a number of dead-end streets.

Tomcics began releasing units from the scene about 12:30 a.m. Feb. 13 and the incident was handed over to a board-up crew from Stellar Construction Co. just before 2 a.m.

The Lanze Lane incident was the start of an abnormally high number of calls for both Eastern and Western Salisbury crews over the following two days.