Video: Fatal Fire Guts Historic Pennsylvania Hotel

A century-old Whitehall Township landmark known for its bar food and as a place for helping those who were down on their luck was gutted by a Sunday morning fire that killed one person, displaced 10 and left its owners without a decade-long income source.

Melvin Keyser, 55, died shortly after he managed to escape the burning Blue Fox Hotel along with 10 others, some of whom were forced to wiggle out of second- and third-floor windows and jump onto a roof.

Witnesses say one woman was seen exiting a fire escape wearing only her underwear.

Keyser, a resident of the hotel at 5834 N. Coplay Road, is believed to be the brother of the building's owner, Robert Keyser.

Whitehall Township Mayor Edward Hozza Jr. said medics tried to revive Melvin. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, where he was pronounced dead at 8:20 a.m. An autopsy will be performed this morning, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's office.

Two of the 10 survivors were taken to a hospital for treatment, but their names and conditions were not released.

Investigators still aren't sure what sparked the blaze, which began at about 7:30 a.m., but they believe it may have started on the first floor before spreading up to the third floor through the walls, Hozza said. The mayor said fire officials don't suspect foul play.

Throughout the day, billowing smoke that could be seen from miles away attracted visitors who spoke fondly about their time spent in the old building, the food served inside and the many changes in ownership over the years.

Jim Maikits, 53, and nine others who lived on the second and third floors of the building were getting help from the American Red Cross, which was providing clothing and a place to stay. Maikits, who began living at the hotel about two months ago, said he had nowhere to go without help from the Red Cross.

"What can I do? I lost everything," said Maikits, who was awoken by an alarm and went out a window before jumping from a second-floor roof to escape. "I don't have nothing now."

Maikits said he jumped out of bed at 7:30 a.m. and began making his way downstairs when a cloud of smoke prevented him from going any further. With many of the residents inside yelling, he decided to go to the third floor and find a way out through a window.

"I grabbed some of my stuff and opened the door and everything was filled with smoke," said Maikits, adding that he was only able to grab his medication. "I couldn't go downstairs because there was so much smoke. All I've got is what I have on. That's it."

Maikits said everything he owned, including his clothes, cell phone and computer, was in the small room he rented on the second floor. He was particularly distraught over the expected loss of a radio that was passed down among several generations.

He said the radio initially belonged to his grandfather and that his father gave it to him. Maikits was planning to give it to his son.

"There was a lot of personal things that meant a lot to me," said Maikits. "That [radio] meant the world to me."

Residents living in a home located immediately adjacent to the hotel were evacuated as precaution, but the home didn't appear to have much damage beyond burned shingles.

Robert and Brenda Keyser, who have owned the hotel for about a decade, said the hotel catered to "transients," and that the Blue Fox is their lone source of income.

Robert Keyser, 60, said the building is insured, but it was unclear whether any of the tenants had renter's insurance.

The Keysers, who live in Coplay, said they have 14 rooms for rent, but not all of them were occupied. It was too early for them to say whether they'd consider rebuilding.

"We were making a go of it," Brenda Keyser said. "We put our heart and soul into it. We did a lot of renovations to get it to where it's supposed to be."

Robert Keyser said he and his wife previously owned a hotel in Allentown before buying the Blue Fox.

Maikits described the Keysers as "the best people around" who "take care of you."

Hozza said the Keysers ran a "tight ship" at the hotel. "We did not have many issues with them from a law enforcement [perspective]," the mayor said.

All five Whitehall fire stations, as well as volunteers from North Catasauqua, Coplay and Northampton, helped fight the fire.

The hotel was built in 1901 and went by many names over the years. Among them were the North Coplay Hotel, Bubba's, Last Stand and Carol's.

Anthony Bartoni, 51, and George Wirth, 50, were among dozens of people who showed up at the fire scene throughout the day, reminiscing about their time spent in the building.

Bartoni said the restaurant inside had a bustling business decades ago serving cement industry workers . He said there were days when the parking lot was filled even after the cement jobs disappeared.

"It was a big stop for guys after work," said Bartoni, who lives four doors down from hotel. "There was good food. It was typical barroom food, but it was good."

Wirth recalled being in there more than four decades ago with his parents. "I had a lot of good times in there," he said.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service