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"He loved fishing and riding his Harley Davidson," family mourns the loss of fire victim


"He loved fishing and riding his Harley Davison," family mourns the loss of fire victim | Photo Credit: Joe Sekelsky{ }
"He loved fishing and riding his Harley Davison," family mourns the loss of fire victim | Photo Credit: Joe Sekelsky
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UPDATE (4/9/21): The Lackawanna County Coroner has identified the victim in yesterday's fire.

48-year-old Paul Sekelsky died from smoke inhalation after flames broke out on Amherst St.

On behalf of Sekelsky's family, we are told he was an amazing person man who will be deeply missed.

His brother says Sekelsky loved fishing and riding his Harley Davidson.

"Pauly was a good hearted man and I can’t believe he his gone," said his brother Joe Sekelsky.

"He will always be in my heart. I just don’t understand how God can take a good hearted person," Joe added.

The Scranton Fire Department and PD Fire are investigating the cause.

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One person is dead following a fire that broke out in a Scranton neighborhood this afternoon.

Fire crews said one man had died from his injuries this afternoon on the 1400 block of Amherst Street. Now investigators in the very early stages of determining what caused it all.

“I yelled at my girlfriend call the cops, the house is falling apart," said neighbor Josiah Rebernik.

Rebernik was getting ready to leave with his girlfriend when heard a crackling noise coming from his neighbor's home.

“I rush out of the house as quickly as I can and I’m sprinting on the street to get to the door and by the time I got there the whole house was covered in flames," said Rebernik.

That is when Rebernik said he quickly redirected his neighbors who were getting too close.

“Honestly it just blew my mind. One minute I’m enjoying my day and the next just something horrible," said Rebernik.

The Scranton Fire Bureau said the blaze broke out around 3 p.m. Thursday on the 1400 block of Amherst Street.

Christine Williams said she immediately dialed 911 when she looked out the window of her home a block away.

“By the time I came downstairs it was engulfed in flames and there was electrical wires on the ground. It looked like fireworks," said Williams.

Fire officials said a couple people were inside at the time of the blaze, one of them succumbing to his injuries.

“The house went up so fast, it was like a match," said Williams.

Scranton Fire Chief John Judge said the fire damaged two homes next door.

“When you get to a fire that’s as progressed as this one was where you have fire from the basement to the second floor, it requires a lot of water to be able to start to make a dent into that fire," said Chief Judge.

Now a community is left mourning as investigators work to determine a cause.

“I really feel so sad for their family," said Rebernik.

Fire officials said they cannot release the man's identity at this time, since they are still notifying family.

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