Fourteen residents were displaced by a fire that was discovered just before sunrise Monday in a three-story apartment building in the 400 block of Walnut Street, Reading fire officials said.
Crew responded about 5:40 a.m. to 409 Walnut St. and were met with an extensive amount of smoke and heat as soon as they entered the third floor, which was the location of the fire, Lt. Kirk Litzenberger of the city fire marshal’s office said at the scene.
Firefighters quickly put out the flames but had to contend with extensive smoke and heat to search for occupants, he said. Investigators determined that everyone in the building made it out safely.
Occupants of the nine apartments gathered outside while awaiting assistance by the American Red Cross, Litzenberger said. The building’s property manager was assisting.
Litzenberger said that the investigation into the cause of the fire had yet to begin because the fire marshal’s office was focused on gathering information from tenants and assisting them in any way they could until Red Cross workers arrived.
The third floor sustained heat and smoke damage throughout and the second and first floors sustained smoke and water damage.
Source: Berkshire mont