No one was injured.
The fire started in and was contained to a food storage room at the Pennsylvania Avenue building, said United Rehabilitation Services Administrator Joseph A. Pierangeli. He estimated damage and losses between $5,000 to $10,000.
Sprinklers activated automatically and the staff launched emergency evacuation procedures. They used ambulances and the Luzerne Transportation Authority to transport about 150 clients, some in wheelchairs, to the Salvation Army near Market Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Wilkes-Barre fire Chief Edward Snarski said the department was called at 9:28 a.m. and brought the fire under control by 9:42. Fourteen firefighters and a paramedic responded. Inspectors ruled the cause as a cooking accident.
The staff had evacuated the building by the time firefighters arrived. Snarski said the sprinkler system did a "good job" of containing the fire to one room. Pierangeli said there was no damage beyond the storage room.
Pierangeli said most clients were picked up at the Salvation Army and returned to their family or group homes by 1:45 p.m. He praised the agencies and departments that helped in the emergency.
"They were professional. They certainly helped us out a great deal and I'm very grateful for all the assistance we received," Pierangeli said, adding that staff from Luzerne County Mental Health/Mental Retardation provided counseling for some clients upset by the fire.
The clients ranged in age from about 16 to those in their 70s, Pierangeli said. The roughly 150 present on Wednesday is about the daily average who come for vocational rehabilitation and training.
The city health department was called to condemn the food damaged in the blaze. Pierangeli said United Rehabilitation Services is accepting monetary donations to help replenish the lost food stock.
