Pennsylvania Apartment Fire Claims Two Lives

March 07--WILKES-BARRE -- Despite a frantic effort by Wilkes-Barre emergency crews to revive them, two men died shortly after being rescued from a burning Wilkes-Barre apartment on Tuesday, officials confirmed.

Stunned onlookers watched as flames raged at 37-39 Pine St. and emergency crews feverishly performed CPR on the two shirtless, soot-covered men -- one in the backyard and the other on a sidewalk.

The men were placed into ambulances and rushed to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where they were pronounced dead minutes apart around 5:30 p.m., said acting Luzerne County Coroner William Lisman.

"When they pulled them out, their limbs were just hanging. We weren't sure if it was an animal or person. It was just terrible," said Marlene Tyson of Scott Street, who came upon the intense blaze while walking her dog and heard a neighbor shouting, "there's people in the house. Get them out! Get them out!"

Wilkes-Barre firefighters soon arrived and pulled the men from a third-floor apartment of the multi-unit complex at Pine and Maxwell streets in the city's East End Section. At least six other tenants escaped unharmed, including James Johnson, 48.

"I smelled smoke and I came running out. It was a scary situation," Johnson said as he sat in a neighbor's yard with a blanket wrapped around him while waiting for a taxi ride to a hotel room supplied by the American Red Cross.

As the sun went down and the temperature dropped, Robert Esser, 84, of Wilkes-Barre, sat shivering in a nearby driveway, also waiting for a taxi.

"I wasn't afraid of the fire. I ain't got nothing to live for anyway," Esser said.

Mina Hontz, of the Red Cross, said the organization would supply survivors with medications, hotel rooms and a grief counselor.

Authorities have identified the victims, who Lisman described as middle-aged men.

"We have positive identifications as to who they are, done by photos shown to neighbors, and we are working on notification of the family," Lisman said. "Due to the severe damages, we have very limited information."

The men died from carbon monoxide intoxication, Lisman said.

"We're waiting to hear from the state police fire marshal to determine if an autopsy is necessary," Lisman said.

Two state police fire marshals were on scene and working late into the evening with Wilkes-Barre fire crews to attempt to determine a cause of the blaze.

This was at least the third fire at the complex in seven years. An accidental electrical fire in April 2005 displaced 10 residents and an October 2008 kitchen fire displaced at least nine people, sending sent one person to the hospital with burn injuries.

In December 1997, the property was cited by the city for debris piles, broken furniture and exposed wires. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals removed two adult cats and nine kittens from the property in June 1999.

Most recently, in December 2010, one of the units was temporarily condemned by city code enforcement officials.

Officials said the two victims in Tuesday's incident survived the 2008 fire.

Barbara Krieg, 26, of Wilkes-Barre, lived in the building until the fire four years ago.

"I knew this place was going to catch fire again and be torn down. This place is so old," she said. "There have been so many problems here. It's about time this place goes."

The building is owned by 83-year-old Richard Tattersall of Wilkes-Barre.

Tattersall's daughter, Michelle Boice, of Harveys Lake, said Tattersall owned the apartment for decades and tried to help the "downtrodden." Boice said she rushed to the scene, fearing her dad might have been in the apartment.

"Someone came up running to me and said someone died, and that just shook me," she said.

Boice soon contacted her father, who she said was "stunned."

"He said, 'I'm OK, make sure the Red Cross takes care of the tenants,'" Boice said.

Tattersall's other daughter, Kathy Evans, said her father was dedicated to helping the less fortunate and providing them an affordable place to live.

"You can call my dad a slumlord or whatever you want, but the truth is he fed these people, he took care of these people," Evans said.

Bill Wellock, staff writer, contributed to this report

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QUICK INFO:

The apartment building at 37-39 Pine St. has been the site of several incidents in the past:

December 2010: A unit in the building was ruled unfit for human habitation by Wilkes-Barre code enforcement officers.

October 2008: A kitchen fire displaced at least nine people and sent one person to the hospital with burn injuries.

April 2005: An accidental electrical fire displaced 10 residents.

June 1999: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals removed two adult cats and nine kittens from the property.

December 1997: The property was cited for piles of debris and broken furniture. Fire inspectors also found exposed wires and combustible materials in the basement.

Source: Citizens' Voice archives

Copyright 2012 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.