A 20-year-old man pulled from this Kenley Street home after it caught fire Monday night later died, according to Hughestown fire chief Jamie Merlino and the Luzerne County Coroner’s office. He was identified on a GoFundMe account as Aidan Herrera.
                                 Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

A 20-year-old man pulled from this Kenley Street home after it caught fire Monday night later died, according to Hughestown fire chief Jamie Merlino and the Luzerne County Coroner’s office. He was identified on a GoFundMe account as Aidan Herrera.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

HUGHESTOWN — One of the victims pulled from a house fire on Kenley Street Monday evening has died, according to Luzerne County Coroner Frank Hacken and Hughestown fire chief Jamie Merlino.

Aidan Herrera, 20, was extricated from the second floor after firefighters were able to douse the blaze. He was transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley, where he succumbed to his injuries around 10 p.m. last night. The county coroner’s office confirmed the death in an email sent Tuesday afternoon.

Efforts to reach family members for comment were not immediately successful Tuesday evening, although Herrera’s longtime stepmother, Gina Mazza, has set up a GoFundMe in order to cover funeral costs and a “return to life,” as the family lost everything.

Speaking of Aidan’s father, Alberto Herrera, 51, she wrote: “He will need to rebuild but nothing replaces the sweet Aidan’s life that touched everyone.”

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Alberto lived at the Kenley Street residence with Aidan and his other sons.

Also taken from the home Monday night was Aidan’s caretaker, who was given oxygen on scene before being transported to a local medical facility. Merlino said the caretaker had been released from the hospital.

The blaze was called in around 6 p.m. on Monday, with crews from Hughestown and multiple neighboring municipalities responding to find the second floor of the residence in flames.

Firefighters knew there to be someone trapped on the second floor of the residence, and initial attempts to breach the fire and rescue the victim were unsuccessful after the fire grew too dangerous to try and pass through.

Additional manpower and hosepower were used to knock down the worst of the fire upstairs, and the victim was taken from the home through an upstairs window, with assistance from an aerial unit from the Excelsior hose company’s truck.

Merlino said that the investigation into what caused the fire is still going, led by a state police fire marshal, but that there was no reason to believe that the fire was suspicious.

The closing text on the GoFundMe page asks for donations if possible, and for those unable to donate to share the fundraiser in hopes of reaching the $5,000 goal.

Mazza, 44, who remains close friends with Alberto, says simply, “As much as I appreciate Al in my life, I would appreciate your help for him. Thank you and my blessings will surround you.”