First responders honored for heroism during triple fatal fire in southern Berks

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14 hours ago

Five first responders were honored Wednesday for their selfless actions during a house fire in Robeson Township in April that killed three people.
At a meeting Wednesday in Robeson Township, State Rep. Mark Gillen commended the heroism of Exeter Fire Department Lt. Christian Sixtos-Flores, Geigertown firefighter Barry Readinger, Exeter Township Fire Department Deputy Chief Brian Rhein, Robeson Township Police Cpl. Jeb Cooper, and Geigertown Fire Department Chief Scott Gullo.
Each was given a citation recognizing their efforts during a fire April 28 on White Bear Road that killed a family and injured firefighters.
Firefighters pulled three residents of a home in the 700 block of White Bear Road in Robeson Township during a two-alarm fire Monday morning. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
'In the face of extraordinary danger, there was bravery,' Gillen said. 'This team did their very best to preserve life. They put everything on the line.'
Readinger was driving his personal vehicle when he saw the blaze and called 911, then notified his chief, Gullo, who lives nearby.
The other firefighters were returning home from a shift with the township road crew when they heard the emergency call.
Despite none of them having breathing apparatus on hand, they acted quickly and dragged Charles L. Lauck, 54, from the smoke-filled structure.
First responders then performed CPR on Lauck, who had called 911 while trying to find his parents in the burning home.
Communications with Lauck ended abruptly when he was apparently overcome by smoke.
The firefighters reentered the home, again before the officially deployed crews and equipment had arrived, looking to find and remove Lauck's parents.
They made it about halfway through the home before being repelled by intense smoke and heat.
By that time, fire crews with breathing packs were on scene. Wasting no time, the firefighters geared up and entered again.
Firefighters removed three people from a burning home in the 700 block of White Bear Road in Robeson Township on Monday morning. (STEVEN HENSHAW -READING EAGLE)
They found and removed Charles S. Lauck and Phyllis Lauck, both 74.
Charles S. and Charles L. Lauck died at Reading Hospital the morning of the fire; Phyllis Lauck died later after being on life support for days.
The firefighters who entered the home without oxygen suffered injuries from burns and smoke inhalation. Two were transferred to the Lehigh Valley Hospital burn unit for precautionary treatment.
Gullo told the Reading Eagle that the firefighters were running on adrenaline during the rescue, which allowed them to temporarily overlook their own symptoms.
He was coughing and felt ill after the operation and was treated at the scene by medics.
He said his mindset during the fire was a form of tunnel vision, where the only priority was rescue.
'It's more just getting to the people and getting them out,' Gullo said. 'Everything just turns off. Everything is quiet. You just do.'
Losing victims takes an emotional toll on firefighters, and those wounds can drive them to push harder, Gullo said.
He said the firefighters' efforts on April 28 were influenced by a fire earlier in April on Morgantown Road in Robeson Township, which claimed two lives.
'We were thinking we lost a couple of people, and that's why we were driven to go in a little deeper,' Gullo said.
Gillen thanked the firefighters for putting their lives at risk for others.
'There's hardship and there's heartache that go with this job,' Gillen said. 'These are the kinds of real-life scenarios that we're asking our heroes to engage in, and they're not paid.'
He noted somewhere around 90% of those serving in Berks County fire departments are unpaid.
'So why are they doing it? Because they care,' Gillen said. 'They get up in the middle of the night, maybe they have to work the next day, maybe they'd rather spend some time with their family…but they reach in their pocket and spend their own (resources).'