Fatal Fire: 4 Victims Identified By Coroner
The Lehigh County Coroner has identified the four people who died in an Emmaus apartment fire on Sunday.
Four people— three adults and a teenager—who died in a devastating apartment house fire Sunday in Emmaus have been positively identifed by the Lehigh County Coroner's office.
All four died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries (burns).
Coroners needed to use dental records and DNA to identify the badly burned bodies.
The residents of 36-38 S. Fifth St. who died are:
- Melissa Twining, 48, and her son, Montana Twining, 16. They lived on the third floor. Montana was a student at Emmaus High School.
- David Jenkins, Jr., 65, of 16 S. 10th St., Emmaus. Some media reports say Jenkins was the boyfriend of Melissa Twining and was visiting her at the time of the fire.
- Lena Marie Adamo, 56. She lived on the second floor. Known as "Marie," she was the girlfriend of resident Bobby Taylor, who managed to escape the blaze. Taylor works at the Emmaus McDonald's, where the manager said his girlfriend Marie was "his world."
There's no word yet on what caused the fire, which is under investigation by the Emmaus Police and Fire departments, assisted by the Pennsylvania State Police—Troop M Fire Marshal Bureau and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
Several residents, including five East Penn students, escaped the blaze. Gift cards are being collected to help the survivors replace their belongings.
SZ
9:09 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
As the investigation of the fiery blast of March 17th in Emmaus continues, a fund has been set up to offset the cost of funeral arrangements and services for those that perished in the fire. The Business and Community Alliance and Emmaus resident (and outreach coordinator for this cause), Sue Zacharda, have established an account at National Penn Bank (formerly KNBT) to defray the cost of services for the four victims. Checks should be made payable to EFVFF (Emmaus Fire Victims Funeral Fund) and mailed to: P.O. Box 193, Emmaus, PA 18049. Monetary donations will be accepted until April 15, 2013. For more information contact Sue at slz2980@gmail.com or the alliance at info@bandcalliance.com