The Luzerne County Coroner’s Office has ruled the death of an 11-year-old boy as accidental following a devastating house fire in Kingston last week. Coroner Dion Fernandes identified the victim as Logan Scalfer, a student at Wyoming Valley West Middle School, and confirmed his cause of death was smoke inhalation. The fire broke out late Wednesday night at a residence on North Welles Avenue, quickly engulfing the structure while the family was inside. Investigators say the boys' mother was on the first floor and managed to escape, while their father and sister were forced to jump from a second-floor window to survive the flames.
Tragically, Logan’s 13-year-old brother also succumbed to his injuries a day later at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown. While the Lehigh County Coroner has confirmed the teenager died from a combination of smoke inhalation and thermal burns, his name has not been officially released to the public out of respect for the family's privacy. Both brothers were members of the same school community, which has since seen a massive outpouring of support and local fundraising efforts to assist the grieving family with medical and funeral expenses. Fire officials are still working to determine the exact cause of the blaze.
