Aug. 12--TROY -- Two people described by a neighbor as a "wonderful" young couple died in an early morning fire Monday on Canton Street in Troy.
Bradford County Coroner Tom Carman didn't release the victims' names or their ages, only saying that a male and a female, as well as a dog, died in the fire at the two-story wood frame house.
He said positive confirmation of their identities will be made at an autopsy, the date of which has not been scheduled.
However, people in the community identified the victims as Brandon and Katie Evans.
Steve Brion, elementary principal at W.R. Croman Primary, located across the street from the scene of the fire, said Brandon Evans was a graduate of Troy High School.
"He was a very nice kid," he said, recalling his participation in some school sports.
"It's just sad," he said. "You never think it's going to happen and all of a sudden, it does."
On Monday afternoon, the Troy Volunteer Fire Department was back at the home, for the report of a rekindle.
Troy Fire Chief Roy Vargson said the state police fire marshal was investigating, but for now, the cause was unknown. He said, to his knowledge, it wasn't suspicious.
He said the fire didn't rekindle.
When asked where the fire started, he said, "we think on the porch." He said the victims were in their bedroom.
He said the whole front side of the home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived at the scene, but they were able to knock it down quickly.
"It just got a head start on us," he said. He thought the home was a loss, except for a garage and a breezeway.
A vehicle in the driveway also appeared to be ravaged by the fire.
Vargson also said a cat died in the fire, but said it hasn't been found.
"I feel bad for the family, because I know the family."
The couple's next door neighbor, Jeanne Duart, said she didn't want to state the names of the victims, but she estimated that they were in their 20's.
She said they were "a wonderful couple" and were going to adopt a baby. She said they had the baby's room done.
Duart, who wasn't home at the time of the fire, noted all the work they had done to their residence, and how they had worked in the yard, planting flowers. She called them "nice" and "hardworking."
"They were great," she said. "They loved their home. They were great neighbors."
She believed they had been married about a year ago.
"It's devastating," she said of the loss.
Her own home had some damage to the siding, as a result of the fire, but was otherwise OK.
Carman said the fire was called in at 1:23 a.m. Monday.
Vargson said the Canton and South Creek Volunteer Fire Departments, along with Western Alliance Emergency Services, assisted at the scene.
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; email: [email protected].
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