City fire marshal investigating 2 fires in Reading

The Reading fire marshal is investigating a pair of Saturday fires.

The first was reported shortly after midnight in the 400 block of Mulberry Street.

Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said firefighters were called to a vacant row home at 450 Mulberry St. at 12:28 a.m. He said a second alarm was struck soon after crews arrived to keep flames from spreading to the two adjoining homes.

Searfoss said the fire was extinguished in about 50 minutes. He said the blaze was mostly contained to the vacant building, but that the homes to the immediate left and right of the building suffered minor damage.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The second fire was reported shortly after noon in the 1400 block of Cotton Street.

Searfoss said firefighters were called to a fire in the second-floor apartment at 1401 Cotton St. at 12:14 p.m. He said the occupant of the apartment woke up to find that his kitchen was on fire.

Searfoss said the tenant of the apartment was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.

While the fire was brought under control in 20 minutes, Searfoss said the entire building was condemned based on the amount of damage and water filtration. He said the Red Cross is assisting the impacted families.

Source: Berkshire mont