A 65-year-old Stroud Township woman died after a house fire tore through her home on Mervine Road on Thursday afternoon, according to the Monroe County Coroner's Office. Mary Salamone was found inside the house and was pronounced dead at the scene that evening, with the cause of the blaze still under investigation.
The fire broke out at a home in the 1100 block of Mervine Road, with flames reportedly igniting just before 4:15 p.m., according to WFMZ. A separate account from 2822 News said several crews were called to the house around 4:15 p.m. Thursday. Monroe County Coroner Tom Yanac said Salamone was pronounced dead shortly after 6:30 p.m., a detail also reported by Fox56, which put the exact time at 6:32 p.m.
Firefighters managed to bring the flames under control by 6 p.m., per the same WFMZ account, but crews from multiple departments stayed on scene for several hours afterward, checking for hot spots and making sure the fire did not reignite. Stroud Area Volunteer Fire Chief Bill Unruh is named in reporting from LehighValleyLive.com as leading the local response. According to a fire department Facebook post cited in that report, the Stroudsburg Fire Department, Blue Ridge Hook & Ladder, Shawnee Fire Department and Pocono Township Volunteer Fire Department all responded to the call.
Coroner Confirms Identity, Autopsy Scheduled
The Monroe County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 65-year-old Mary Salamone of Stroud Township, according to 2822 News. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday to determine her cause and manner of death, which remained pending as of the latest reporting from the same outlet.
No other injuries were reported in connection with the fire. It remains unclear whether anyone else was home when the blaze broke out, a detail that has not been resolved in available reporting.
Cause Still Unknown as Agencies Investigate
The cause of Thursday's fire had not been determined, and the investigation into it remained ongoing, according to the 2822 News report. Stroud Area Regional Police and Pennsylvania State Police fire marshals are jointly investigating what sparked the blaze.
Fire deaths have been a persistent problem statewide. Pennsylvania recorded 131 fire deaths in 2025, and by the end of March 2026 the state's toll for the year had already climbed to at least 32, according to LehighValleyNews.com. The state's fire commissioner told that outlet Pennsylvania had ranked first in the nation in civilian fire deaths for three years running. No further details on the Mervine Road fire's cause have been released as the investigation continues.
