MOUNT CARMEL, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Several people are displaced Thursday morning after a fire damaged multiple row homes in Northumberland County.
A devastating morning on East Seventh Street after three homes took most of the damage from an early morning fire. The call came in just before 7:00 am.
“I was getting ready to leave and when I walked out of the house, I saw the neighbors screaming to the other neighbors to get out,” said neighbor Jose Leon.
Leon has lived in his home on East Seventh Street for seven years never thinking there would be a fire on his block.
“I noticed the fire, ran out to make sure he [the neighbor] was fine and tried to contact 911 but they were already on the way,” said Leon.
Firefighters were able to make it to the scene quickly because they had just left another fire.
“There was a call right before this one in another community. Our Station 2, which is another ladder company, they were there and just getting ready to leave when this alarm went in, so that made it a quicker response for them and the other two companies from the Borough they were very quick to respond,” said Mount Carmel Fire Department Chief John Janolek.
Three homes were heavily damaged by the flames and two received minor smoke damage. Firefighters acted swiftly to prevent the fire from spreading throughout more of the rowhomes.
“It can get ahead of you really quickly. I had this side already vented so I can travel very quick. A lot of them will have common attacks. If it gets into that third division, it can travel really quick and rapid. Here, we contained it to the first division—contained it mainly to the fire room,” said Chief Janolek.
The only person injured was one man who burnt a few of his fingers trying to put out part of the fire before firefighters arrived. A state police fire marshall is investigating