Four people were left homeless in a raging fire last night in Lehighton, which caused extensive damage to three houses.

The fire happened at a twin home at the intersection of Fourth and Ochre Street. Heavy flames consumed the rear of the house from the ground to the roof.So hot were the flames that siding on a house about 75 feet away was shredded.Three men heroically worked as a team and saved two dogs that were inside one of the homes.There was one inaccurate news report broadcast this morning which said a dog perished. Both dogs were safely rescued said the owner.The fire was reported shortly before 8 o'clock. When firefighters arrived, the flames already had reached the full altitude on both sides of the large dwelling.An individual from Franklin Township, about two miles away, said he could see the flames from his residence.The smoke from the fire could be seen for several miles.Occupying one side of the home is Sharon Ace, while living on the other side are Derek Flexer, his wife, Bobbi Jo, and their daughter, Payton, who will turn 6 months old on April 23.Lehighton Fire Chief Gary Frable said because of the severity of the fire, he will ask a state police fire marshal to help him investigate the cause.Ace was home at the time of the fire and managed to get out of the residence without injury.The Flexer family was away at the time, arriving as firefighters were pulling onto the scene.The third house damaged, located on North Fourth Street, is vacant.Emerging as heroes were Frank Gnas of Lehighton, Trevor Hosier of New Ringgold, and Tyler Meek, a Mahoning Township police officer. They managed to rescue the two caged dogs of the Flexer family.Gnas, a Slatington police officer who was off-duty, as well as a member of the Walnutport Fire Department, described the harrowing moments leading to the dog rescues.He said he and Hosier were throwing horseshoes several doors away and saw the smoke from the burning dwelling. He ran to neighboring homes, banging on doors to alert people of the fire and making sure everyone was safe.Someone yelled to him that there were dogs in one of the residences.Gnas ran onto the porch and Hosier followed to assist. The dogs are a pit bull and a boxer."I didn't know what kind of dogs they were and it really didn't matter," said Gnas, adding that when he reached into the cages he anticipated that he might get bitten."It was dark in there," he said. The fire was also spreading rapidly.He opened the cage of the pit bull, first, hoping it would run outside. Instead, it went deeper into the house.Gnas then reached inside the cage of the boxer. It kept pulling away, but he managed to grasp it and pulled it out by hugging it.Meanwhile, Meek showed up at the scene. Gnas went inside the house to get the pit bull and Meek assisted him.Gnas said when he arrived at the scene, "The flames were 25 to 30 feet high. When I came out (after saving the dogs), I couldn't see. My eyes were watering and I was coughing."Responding to the scene were members of the Lehighton, Franklin Township, and Mahoning Township fire departments.Lehighton Police were assisted by officers from Mahoning Township, Franklin Township, and the Lehighton barracks of the state police.Lehighton Fire Police assisted with traffic and crowd control.The Lehighton Ambulance was also dispatched.The Lehighton fire chief praised the work of the firefighters. He said despite the severity and the rapid extension of the fire, they knocked the flames down quickly."They did a great job," Frable said.Chief of Police Neal Ebbert of Lehighton said when he and other police officers arrived, "the back porch was fully involved."He said he was initially assisted by Mahoning Township officers and state troopers in making sure everyone was out of the burning dwellings.Grant Hunsicker, president of Lehighton Borough Council, also had praise for the firefighters, noting that the back of the house was fully engulfed in flames. He said he had been watching television at the time and his dog began barking.He immediately called 9-1-1 but was informed the fire had already been reported.Ace and the Flexer family reportedly will be temporarily residing with their respective relatives.