Households displaced

The Red Cross is providing shelter, food and clothing to a South Franklin Township family, including an infant, whose home was damaged in an early morning fire Tuesday.
According to South Franklin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Fred Hutson, a call to emergency responders was placed from the home of Andrew and Kati Mack, 2770 Park Ave., Washington, just after 5 a.m. for flames originating in the kitchen.
Neither the Macks nor an adult family member living in a basement apartment was injured.
“(The fire) destroyed an enclosed sun porch, and the kitchen is pretty much gutted,” Hutson said.
There also was fire damage to the adjacent living room and extensive smoke damage to the entire house.
Hutson said it appears as though a defective or faulty exhaust fan motor over the stove is to blame.
A state police fire marshal is investigating.
The Red Cross is providing the family with temporary lodging at an area hotel, food, supplies and clothing, said Kevin Brown, a Red Cross spokesman.
“There is no way they could stay there now,” Hutson said of the uninhabitable structure.
Red Cross disaster action team members are trained to respond to emergencies such as house fires. They conduct damage assessments and interview those affected to meet emergency needs.
North Franklin and Morris Township fire departments assisted in extinguishing the fire.