PULASKI FIRE Gathering to help

The fire started in the basement in the area of a wood and coal burning stove.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
PULASKI, Pa. -- Clad in blue denim pants and coats and wide-brim hats, 20 or so Amish men milled around the rubble with hands in pockets and somber looks on their faces.
"We help each other," said one who was standing atop the remains of a porch of a house on Pa. Route 208 where five Amish children died Tuesday night.
And within weeks, these men say, they will have the remaining family members back in a new house built on the same spot.
They are part of a close-knit Old Order Amish community, located near New Wilmington, Pa., since 1847.
The Old Order Amish, which count nearly 2,000 members in that region, don't have insurance in the same sense as their non-Amish, often called "English," neighbors, said Scott Phillips, a non-Amish neighbor who was helping organize a bank fund for the family.
"The Amish won't ask for any help, but they will take any help offered. They are sort of 'self-insured.' Eventually you will see 100 to 200 people here rebuilding the house," he said. Most of the materials will be donated, he added.
Throughout the day Amish and non-Amish stopped at the fire site dropping off cash and goods. One man offered a deer he killed Monday.
The family
Rudy and Lizzie Wengerd and their surviving children -- Anna, 16; Gideon, 15; Danny, 9; and Emma, 5 -- were staying with Mrs. Wengerd's mother less than a half-mile from their gutted home after escaping the intense blaze at their wooden-frame home late Tuesday night.
Five other children -- Katie, 14; Levi, 12; Neil, 11; John, 4; and Jonathon, 2 -- died.
Pennsylvania State Police ruled the blaze accidental. A state police press release says autopsies were performed Wednesday by Dr. Karl Williams of Ellwood City Hospital. Russell Noga, Lawrence County coroner, ruled all five victims died of acute smoke and fume inhalation.
Trooper Mark Baer, a state police fire marshal, said the fire started in the basement in the area of a wood- and coal-burning furnace. He is unsure if the blaze started in the furnace or with something near it.
Once the flames were noticed at about 10 p.m. the blaze quickly engulfed the home. The parents were able to escape unharmed from their first-floor bedroom and four of the nine children made it out from the second floor, where all nine slept, Baer said.
Authorities believe the family was asleep when the blaze started.
Injuries
Gideon, 15, jumped from the roof of the porch and broke his leg. He and his father were treated at Jameson Memorial Hospital in New Castle just after the fire started. Information on the father's injuries was not available.
Gideon and his brother Danny, who appeared to have swelling around his eyes and face, were taken back to the hospital later Wednesday morning for more treatment, said Neil Miller, an Old Order Amish and first cousin of Rudy Wengerd. He was unsure how the other three children escaped.
The bodies of the five other children were pulled from the rubble early Wednesday morning after both floors had collapsed into the basement.
Miller, who owns a harness shop about three miles from the Wengerd home, brought shoes and hats from his store for the children. Other members of the Amish community brought clothing and other items for the family, he said.
"There is a room almost full of clothing already," he said.
The surviving family members got out with nothing but their nightclothes on, he said.
Moved in in August
The family moved into the house in August, neighbors said. It had previously been owned by a non-Amish family, and electric and cable television lines were still hooked to the structure. Family members said those were not in use.
The Old Order Amish do not use electricity or other modern conveniences, instead opting for wood-burning furnaces and kerosene lamps.
Alvin Vogel of Evans City, Pa., a non-Amish friend of the Wengerds', said, "The mother and dad are very broken up."
Vogel said Rudy Wengerd and Wengerd's father built a barn on Vogel's property about seven years ago and he has kept in touch with the family. Rudy Wengerd most recently worked as a manager of the Mercer Livestock Auction in Wilmington Township, Mercer County.
"They are a very Amish family, but always willing to do more than their share. I used to tease Rudy about everything," Vogel said.
A funeral for the five children is planned for Saturday, relatives said.
Friends and neighbors expect to start work on the new house Monday, said Wally Byler, an Amish neighbor.
He said the house should be up within a few weeks, but the family likely won't start living in it for a while. Inside work will take longer, he added.
cioffi@vindy.com