UPDATE Mifflinburg Area High School student killed in Union County fire

Apr. 12—BUFFALO TOWNSHIP — A 16-year-old juvenile died in an overnight fire that destroyed a home along Buffalo Road in Union County.

Reese Donovan Conklin, 16, a sophomore at Mifflinburg Area High School, died on Friday at his residence due to injuries suffered in a house fire, according to his obituary.

Trooper James Nizinski, the fire marshal with the Milton State Police Barracks, reported the boy could not escape the second-floor blaze reported at 2:08 a.m. at a home located on the 6000 block of Buffalo Road in Buffalo Township. Union County Coroner Dominick Adamo responded to the scene, Nizinski said.

Mifflinburg Hose Company Fire Chief Steve Walter said the fire was "fully involved" when firefighters arrived. A cause and origin have not yet been determined.

"The first arriving chief was a quarter mile ahead of me, reporting heavy fire on three sides of the building," Water said Friday morning. "It was well-involved on the first and second floors. It was a fully involved structure when we got there."

The home is located along Buffalo Creek near the intersection of Route 192 and Church Road in Cowan.

As firefighters responded, initial emergency calls reported a possible entrapment of three people, which was confirmed when they got on the scene. One person jumped from a second-floor window, but Walter said he was not sure how the second person escaped.

The juvenile did not make it out, he said.

"We did what we could do to get to that person," said Walter. "The heat of the fire thwarted the effort. We had to do some fire suppression before we could even get inside to do a search."

The two individuals who escaped were taken to Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg to be treated for smoke inhalation, one of which was exacerbated by asthma, Walter said. Life Flight from Geisinger was requested, but it had to be canceled due to weather conditions, said Walter.

The conditions of the two residents who escaped the fire are unknown Friday morning.

The fire was knocked out and under control in about an hour. The firefighters spent three hours on scene, leaving at approximately 5:30 a.m., Walter said. Parts of Route 192 were closed for several hours to allow for emergency response.

Nizinski was on scene Friday morning to investigate, said Walter.

Mifflinburg Area School District Superintendent Ken Dady said the district brought in additional counselors, therapy dogs and resources for students and staff on Friday.

"Counselors within our schools and within our community have stopped in to provide extra support," said Dady. "We utilized a couple of areas in school as areas students or staff could go to where we had these resources established and people waiting to talk with them if desired."

Conklin, a son of John Conklin and Sara Bolden, was described by his family as active in soccer, tennis, choir and the high school musical. He recently started a job at Mifflinburg OIP. He enjoyed his school activities, spending time with family and going to the cabin.