DUBOIS, Pa.
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Following a deadly apartment building fire Friday morning, a state fire marshal is working to determine how the blaze was sparked.
The first 911 calls came in just after 7 a.m., when an eyewitness spotted smoke billowing from the building on Jared Street in downtown DuBois.
Jim Davis also saw the fire as he was driving into work. He grabbed his camera and shared his eyewitness video with WJAC-TV News.
A lot of smoke, guys up on the ladders running hoses putting water on the fire, flames coming off the top of the building, explained Davis. It was pretty intense.
The fast-moving fire trapped several families inside the three story apartment building.
DuBois Mayor Herm Suplizio was one of the first to arrive on the scene.
Also a volunteer firefighter; Suplizio helped rescue a family in distress.
We had a family of four; two children and a mother and father, in the second floor of the structure, said Suplizio. We laddered it, with the help of all the other departments and pulled them out of the building.
During a news conference Friday afternoon, DuBois acting Police Chief Michael Dilullo confirmed that two men had died in the fire.
Six people inside the building were taken for treatment to DuBois Regional Medical Center.
A firefighter on scene broke his forearm while battling the blaze.
The building on Jarod Street is at least one hundred years old and has been determined as a total loss.
A community food pantry was housed in the buildings basement; firefighters have not yet been able to see if anything is salvageable.
The American Red Cross is offering help for families affected by Fridays fire.
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