By The Progress:
Clifford “Butch” Dunlap, 75, perished in the fire that took place at his 50 Coalward Street, Winburne, Cooper Township home, according to fire officials and family members.
Butch’s son, Bobby Dunlap — who is also the current Winburne Fire Chief — told The Progress that Butch had been a part of active service within the company for over 50 years up until last year. At that point, Butch then went to inactive after he was not medically cleared to return to service.
Bobby Dunlap, who was at Penn Highlands Clearfield dropping off a patient while working the Mountain Top Ambulance Service, said he received a frantic phone call from one of the junior fire members telling him his father’s trailer was on fire with Butch Dunlap still inside the residence.
“I told the junior member that it will be ok to try and reassure him to keep him from getting hurt (inside the blaze),” Bobby Dunlap said. “I then made radio contact with the dispatch center at Clearfield and advised to upgrade to structure fire with entrapment. I later learned that the junior member and neighbor made a desperate attempt to make a rescue but were unable to gain entry because of the amount of fire.”
After the incident Tuesday, fellow fire company volunteer member Tyler Bender, who has been with them since 2018, took to Facebook and created a fundraiser for the Dunlap family, for which you can send in various ways. You can send to Bender’s Venmo at @tylxrbxndxr or PayPal accounts at [email protected] or tbend0811. Those who perfer to send by check can do so at Winburne VFD, 1162 Main St., Winburne, PA 16879. Those making checks and make them payable to “Tyler Bender” with “Winburne Chief” in the memo so that the checks are not made payable to the fire department — this ensures all funds go directly to the Dunlap family without affecting the department’s financial records.
“We are doing everything possible to make sure 100 percent of the donations go directly to the family to assist with funeral expenses, property cleanup, and time to grieve,” Bender said. “If anyone has questions about donating, they are more than welcome to contact me directly (either by call or text) at 814-496-0177.”
Read the full story here.
