Oct. 25--A vacant former Mack Trucks building along Allentown's Little Lehigh Creek was damaged Thursday night when a fire broke out toward the east side of the structure, officials said.
One firefighter was injured in a fall.
The blaze began about 6:25 p.m. in the idle 600 S. 10th St. plant. When the first fire trucks arrived, an interior section of the building was in flames, city fire Capt. John Christopher said.
"This is a huge building, which is why the second alarm was called," Christopher said. "They were able to knock the bulk of the fire down in about 30 minutes."
The injured firefighter was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.
"He was conscious, but he was in quite a bit of pain," Christopher said. The firefighter might have slipped on one of the building's metal floors, which are especially slick when wet, he said.
No one else was hurt. Christopher said the building has been idle for some time. It once was a Mack Trucks building, but has changed hands over the years.
The blaze damaged one large room in the building, Christopher said, but because the flames were confined to that room, the remaining structure was not affected.
A city fire marshal was investigating the fire, Christopher said.
Firefighters remained at the scene until about 8:30 p.m., opening walls to look for hot spots.
The old plant is about 40 feet tall in the front and 60 feet tall at the rear, and runs more than 200 yards along the south bank of the Little Lehigh Creek.
-- Frank Warner
Copyright 2013 - The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
