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The three victims of the fire are as follows according to the Dauphin County coroner's office:
Paul "Pappy Gar" Garman, 87, North Londonderry Twp., Lebanon County resident.
Cynthia "Cindy" Weatherholtz, 60, Swatara Twp., Dauphin County resident.
Kristi Dougherty, 7, Swatara Twp., Dauphin County resident.
The call to the fire at 16 Patton Road, Annville, North Londonderry Township came in at 1:47 a.m., Sunday, Jan. 21, North Londonderry Township Police detailed to Daily Voice on Monday morning.
The fire began in the garage but quickly spread to the rest of the home, police explained.
Six people were in the home when the fire broke out, Palmyra Fire Department Chief David Dugan explained in a press release. Four had evacuated, including the 911 caller — later identified as Kristi's grandma Cindy — reentered the home to search for her granddaughter and father. But she never returned, so when firefighters arrived they "quickly made entry to search for the three unaccounted family members, while also working on fire extinguishment," Dugan explained.
Once the trio was located, the firefighters placed them in the care of EMS. All six family members were taken to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center "with one family member transported by Life Lion Aeromedical," Dugan explained.
The survivors were Cindy's mom and Paul's wife Great-Grand Mamie Garman; Cindy's brother, the Garman's adult son and Kirsti's uncle, and Cindy's grandson, Kristi's brother, according to comments shared with Daily Voice by the family's neighbors.
All three family members who were killed, were pronounced dead at the hospital, the Dauphin County coroner's office explained.
Their autopsies are scheduled for Tuesday and their causes and manners of death will be released after they are complete. Check back here for those updates.
Although it is known that the fire started in the garage, the cause of the fire remains unknown. "It has been determined during the investigation that the home did not have functioning smoke detectors," Dugan said.
A Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal is investigating.
Dugan noted the following in his release:
"Palmyra Fire Department with the Pennsylvania State Police and North Londonderry Township Police would like to take this tragic opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of having functioning smoke detectors as early fire detection can truly save lives."
Pappy Gar was a Hershey native who was a Hershey Public High School alumni, according to his social media. Cindy was a Palmyra native and local, her Facebook shows. They were known for being church-goers who were kind to their neighbors, according to friends on social media. Cindy had only moved into the multi-generation home to help care from her aging parents, her neigbors told Daily Voice.
The family has launched a GoFundMe that has raised over $13,000 in less than 24 hours.
This is one of three fatal fires in Central Pennsylvania that Daily Voice has reported on in less than 24 hours. Click here to read about the mobile home fire that killed a 74-year-old man in Lancaster County and click here to read about the domestic incident turned standoff then the house fire that killed Mark Hackman.
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