March 18--Four people died in a multi-unit apartment house fire in Emmaus outside of Allentown Sunday afternoon while other tenants in the three-story building barely escaped.
Brooke Woomer, 14, said she was in her bedroom in a first-floor apartment when her father, a volunteer firefighter, began frantically pounding on her door.
"He said, 'Open the door; the house is on fire.' "
Woomer said she ran out a back door in bare feet. When she circled to the front of the house, she saw flames on the porch and then, "the windows exploded."
Flames were shooting several feet above the roof as firefighters arrived just after 12 p.m. with no chance of saving those trapped inside the duplex at 36-38 S. Fifth St.
Fire Chief James Reiss said firefighters initially entered the building, but they had to abandon the effort because it was too dangerous. Firefighters activated numerous hoses and spent hours fighting the fire from the exterior as the roof and upper sections of the building collapsed onto the floors below.
The Emmaus Police Department confirmed Monday morning that four people died in the fire.
The names and ages of the victims and the location of where they were found in the apartment building have not yet been released, but neighbors said the building contained several apartments.
The afternoon fire filled the neighborhood with smoke as numerous residents from the borough of about 6,700 residents gathered outside along those who escaped the burning structure and the building's owners.
Woomer's father, Joe, said he and his daughter got out just in time.
"I would say another three minutes and I probably wouldn't be having a daughter," said Joe Woomer, who has been a volunteer firefigther for 17 years.
The Woomers and several neighbors said they saw or heard explosions.
"All I saw was the flames shooting out," said Eric Ferrizzi, who lives three houses away.
He said he started toward the fire until he heard explosions.
"I backed up, then the building exploded," he said.
Ferrizzi said the front of the building blew out toward the street. He then went to the back of the building and saw another explosion on the third floor, he said.
Richard Shelly, who also lives on South Fifth Street, said he was inside when he heard an explosion. He went outside and saw the street filled with smoke.
"It was a mess," he said.
Brooke Woomer said someone gave her shoes to wear as she stood and watched firefighters work. They fought the fire from above, spraying water through a top-floor window.
"Everything's destroyed because the roof fell in," she said.
Firefighters and the state police fire marshal are investigating the cause, Reiss said.
The Lehigh County coroner's office also is investigating.
Fire departments from Emmaus, Vera Cruz, Western Salisbury, Lower Macungie, Alburtis and Greenawalds and several ambulance companies, including Cetronia and Emmaus, battled the fire.
The American Red Cross Greater Lehigh Valley said it provided food and clothing to two families of three adults and two children.
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Copyright 2013 - The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
