2 rescued, 6 displaced in Pottstown apartment fire

A young woman and her dog are seen being taken to a Goodwill Ambulance after they were rescued from the third floor of a burning building at the intersection of North York Street and Second Street in Pottstown Thursday afternoon. The woman was checked out for breathing in smoke and was not transported to the hospital. Another resident was rescued by firemen from a fourth floor porch. The fire was confined to the basement of the four story building that formerly housed a tavern.
A young woman and her dog are seen being taken to a Goodwill Ambulance after they were rescued from the third floor of a burning building at the intersection of North York Street and Second Street in Pottstown Thursday afternoon. The woman was checked out for breathing in smoke and was not transported to the hospital. Another resident was rescued by firemen from a fourth floor porch. The fire was confined to the basement of the four story building that formerly housed a tavern. Tom Kelly III — For Digital First Media

By Marian Dennis, mdennis@21st-centurymedia.com, @MarianDennis1 on Twitter

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Firefighters work at the scene of an apartment fire that started in the basement of the building. The fire spread through the walls, keeping firefighters busy for about two hours.
Firefighters work at the scene of an apartment fire that started in the basement of the building. The fire spread through the walls, keeping firefighters busy for about two hours. Marian Dennis – Digital First Media

POTTSTOWN >> Several people have been displaced after a fire broke out in an apartment building in the borough Thursday.

Fire officials received a call for a building fire at approximately 12:36 p.m. at York and Second streets. When firefighters arrived, they saw a woman on one of the upper floors of the apartment building waving to them to assist her.

“When we arrived, we saw smoke coming out and the third floor occupant was leaning out the window calling for help and there was smoke behind her so our first priority was to grab her,” said Pottstown Fire Chief Michael Lessar. “We had another resident on the back porch who couldn’t get out of the building as well so we saved two occupants.”

A total of six people and an unspecified number of pets were residing in the apartments and all made it out safely, according to Lessar. No injuries to residents or firefighters were reported.

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Fire crews then went to work on locating the fire, which was determined to be in the basement of the building.

“The fire was in the basement and it followed the void spaces up into the walls so we were chasing a lot of little fires throughout the building,” said Lessar.

Lessar said he was unsure how long it took firefighters to get the blaze under control but that the circumstances of the fire required them to open up the several parts of the walls. As of 2:20 p.m., fire departments were still on the scene.

Fire officials do not have a damage estimate for the building but said the residents are currently displaced and being assisted by the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire is being investigated by fire marshals.

In addition to the Pottstown Fire Department, Goodwill Ambulance and West End Fire Company assisted at the scene.

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