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KINGSTON — Reasons why hydrants were found frozen by Kingston Forty Fort firefighters at the scene of a fatal fire on Eley Street last month remain unknown, officials said.

Kingston Forty Fort Fire Chief Frank Guido said he gave a list of eight hydrants to Pennsylvania American Water Company that were discovered frozen when firefighters responded to a fire on Feb. 18.

Without an immediate supply of water, the Back Mountain Tanker Task Force responded and set up a tanker shuttle refilling tanker trucks more than one mile away near Luzerne Lumber in Luzerne.

The fire at the double block home, 107-109 Eley St., claimed the lives of Helen M. Sweetra, 89, and her son, Anthony Sweetra, 57.

Guido said despite the frozen hydrants, the fire was too far advanced when firefighters from multiple departments arrived at the scene.

Two deputy state police fire marshals investigated the cause of the blaze, which could not be determined due to the amount of damage, Guido said.

“It was too unstable to get in there,” Guido said.

Hours after the blaze was extinguished, the Sweetra home and 111 Eley St. were demolished due to fire damage. Homes at 105 and 113 Eley St. sustained smoke and water damage.

Guido said he recently met with Pennsylvania American Water officials about the frozen hydrants.

“They could not give an explanation but felt the hydrants didn’t drain properly,” Guido said. “These hydrants were frozen solid, right at the caps.”

Susan Turcmanovich, external affairs manager for Pennsylvania American Water, said the water company inspected those hydrants identified by the fire department as frozen during the Feb. 18 blaze.

“One hydrant was found to be frozen; all other hydrants were operational,” Turcmanovich stated in a reply to questions sent by email.

“Our local team met with Chief Guido to discuss issues and will continue to keep lines of communication open between the fire department and the company. Pennsylvania American Water maintains all hydrants and inspects them annually,” Turcmanovich stated.

“As part of our meeting, they did commit to flush, lubricate and test every hydrant in Forty Fort and Kingston. They did commit to that come spring,” Guido said.

Hydrants inspected near fatal Kingston fire scene