More than 40 people from 12 families have been displaced following Thursday’s fire in a row of Allentown apartment homes that went to three alarms before crews could bring it under control.
The blaze could have spread further — the street has 10 homes connected — if not for firefighters’ quick action, city Chief James Wehr said Friday.
“It definitely could have been a lot worse,” he said. No one was injured in the fire and everyone home at the time escaped.
Three of the homes sustained fire damage and are considered uninhabitable, Wehr said, while the other three structures had smoke and water damage. There were no immediate indications of the cause and the fire marshal is investigating, Wehr said.
“I will say the crew made a fantastic stop to limit it to the three homes that had damage,” he said.
The fire broke out shortly after 2 p.m. in the roof area of one of the middle homes in the 900 block of West Washington Street, Wehr said. Nearly 30 firefighters from the city’s stations battled the blaze, which took about 60-90 minutes to bring under control.
AJ Suero, a spokesperson with the American Red Cross, said the agency initially offered housing assistance to 29 residents in six families. He said Friday those numbers swelled to 43 people, with 14 from another six families.
Suero learned of the additional displaced residents after conferring with three groups that are also providing relief. He said many people had left the area before the Red Cross was able to assist them.
Wehr and Suero said some of the residents were able to stay with relatives. The victims live in apartments created out of the homes, Suero said, adding most of the fire damage appeared to have occurred in the rear of the buildings.
Suero said other agencies assisting in the relief are Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, the Ortiz Ark Foundation and ReciproCITY.
Allentown firefighters have had a busy week. On Monday, two people died and four others escaped by jumping from a second-floor window of a three-store home in the 700 block of North Fair Street, an alley near North Sixth Street. The Lehigh County coroner’s office identified the victims as Andres “Dinky” Ortiz, 14, and brother-in-law, Heriberto “Nuni” Santiago, 44, on Tuesday following an autopsy. Both deaths were determined to be accidental.
Witnesses said Ortiz died while trying to save Santiago, who was trapped in the house. Three firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion following the city’s first fatal fire this year.
“It’s been a tough week, definitely,” said Wehr, who had no update about Monday’s fatal fire.
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