May 26--Fire broke out in the rear of a row house and spread to five other homes in the 1100 block of N. Catasauqua Avenue early Sunday morning, firefighters said.
The blaze, which erupted about 2:30 a.m., forced 14 people out of their homes, and some expressed disbelief that what appeared to be a small fire on the back porch of one home quickly ravaged the others.
None of the residents were injured, but one firefighter suffered an injured shoulder when he slipped on a wet floor, Allentown fire Chief Robert Scheirer said.
"I really don't believe this got out of control so quickly," said Thelma Harris, standing on the sidewalk opposite her three story brick row house at 1112 N. Catasauqua Ave. as workers boarded her neighbors' windows.
Harris said she, her husband Eddie Johnson Sr., son Eddie Johnson Jr. and brother Donald Mervin were awakened after the fire started by a rumbling and popping sound. Harris said she thought the noise was fireworks at Coca Cola Park, visible from Catasauqua Avenue on the other side of the Lehigh River.
But she quickly realized that something was wrong and ran to wake her son who was asleep on the third floor.
They went into the back yard and watched as the first firefighters on the scene attacked the fire. Eddie Johnson Sr. said he questioned why firefighters didn't put water on the flames immediately, and considered getting his garden hose.
"They took their time, man," Johnson said.
Harris said all three floors of her home suffered heavy fire, smoke and water damage. But Scheirer said the buildings could be repaired.
Allentown fire Capt. John Christopher said the fire appears to have started at the rear of the first floor of the home at 11081/2 N. Catasauqua Ave. When firefighters arrived, the fire was inside the walls and ceiling of the home and had to be exposed before it could be doused.
Although the fire department transmitted a second alarm at 3:12 a.m. and a third alarm at 3:25 a.m. to summon more firefighters, the flames rapidly spread through the common loft of the homes.
Scheirer said many Allentown row homes lack a fire wall that extends to the roofline, and that is what allowed the fire Sunday morning to cause such extensive damage.
Fire crews remained on the scene about 9 a.m. as residents salvaged belongings from the homes.
The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley provided residents in the homes from 1106 to 1114 N. Catasauqua Ave. with food, lodging and clothing Scheirer said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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