Crews battled a two-alarm blaze Monday afternoon at 710 James St. in Sinking Spring.
The fire was reported about 2:40 p.m.
Reports said the fire originated when an air fryer caught fire in a second-floor apartment in the building, but the cause is still under investigation by the state police fire marshal, according to Jared Renshaw, fire commissioner with the Western Berks Fire Department.
Renshaw noted that emergency services were called to evaluate one firefighter whose helmet was damaged during the operation.
“He’s okay…he didn’t have any burns,” Renshaw said of the firefighter. “Luckily the equipment we provided did its job.”
Crews arriving at the scene reported heavy fire and smoke from the second floor. Images posted to social media show a large plume of smoke billowing from the apartment building.
A second alarm was struck after crews began operation, with firefighters running lines from a hydrant outside, and opening the roof to contain the flames.
Renshaw said the fire was contained to the kitchen and living room area of a single apartment in the complex, with the apartment underneath sustaining some water damage.
He said the fire was under control in about 20 minutes, with crews then performing overhaul operations to ensure the fire’s remnants didn’t spread through an attic space connecting multiple apartments.
“We laid in from a hydrant (outside),” Renshaw said. “One of the (crews) cut two ventilation holes in the roof.”
The family living in the apartment is displaced, and Renshaw said he wasn’t sure what their plans were.
Source: Berkshire mont
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