Lower Saucon Family Loses Home, ‘Cherished Possessions’ to Fire

A local family suffered a devastating loss Thursday afternoon when their home caught fire in a rural corner of Lower Saucon Township.

Identified in a GoFundMe campaign as the Oechsle/Doheny family, friends are rallying around in the wake of the blaze at 2800 County Line Road, just off Drifting Drive.

Northampton County public property records list the homeowners as Patrick and Diane Oechsle.

Pictures from the scene show much of the home and an attached garage engulfed in flames; flames which friend Adrienne Heffelfinger said in her GoFundMe campaign established on behalf of the family destroyed both the home and “cherished possessions.”

“So many of us were lucky to have such wonderful memories at their home with family and friends–these great times will always live on with us,” Heffelfinger said. “Together we can help soften some of the heartache as they begin to try and move on from this tragedy.”

As of 9:15 p.m. nearly $1,500 had already been donated, toward a campaign goal of $5,000.

On Facebook, Heffelfinger said her best friend, Krystal Doheny, is getting married in a month “and some of the things she was planning to decorate with were destroyed. Please message me if you have anything you’d like to donate/let us borrow.”

“The fire may have destroyed their house, but it can’t destroy this family’s love and all the great times they’ve had on County Line Road,” she added.

Officials have yet to release a cause for the fire, which reportedly drew volunteers from as far away as Lower Milford Township.

The nearest fire department to the scene is Southeastern Volunteer Fire Company.

The Lower Saucon Township Police Department reported in a Facebook post that tanker trucks had to travel to Saucon Valley High School to be filled, and warned motorists that narrow Wassergass Road was the route they were using to travel back and forth.

Parts of Drifting Drive and Bergstresser Drive were closed in the area of the fire.