0400hrs Overnight units operated on a second alarm apartment building fire in Ashland, Schuylkill county. Command arrived and reported the rear of the building fully involved. Crews were on scene for several hours working hot spots.
No cause of the fire has been determined as of this post.
No injuries were reported.
Republican paper Pottsville pa
ASHLAND — An intense fire ripped through an apartment building early Monday morning, displacing two families, officials said.
Arriving around 4 a.m., Ashland firefighters were confronted with a roaring inferno that engulfed the rear of 1100 Centre St.
“The flames were massive,” said Charlie Orth, Ashland first assistant fire chief.
The rear of the building, an adjoining structure that fronted on 11th Street, was unoccupied.
The first and third floors of the front section were occupied, officials said.
They were uncertain how many people occupied the apartments, but said that the people were able to get out of the burning building safely.
Patty Daley, disaster action team supervisor with the Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter, said the agency is assisting five adults and one child with food, clothing and shelter.
Arriving on the scene, Ashland firefighters used hoses to knock down the inferno, Orth said. An electric power line had been severed, he said, and firefighters were confronted with live wires.
A second alarm was sounded, bringing units from surrounding towns.

Aerial trucks from Ashland and Mount Carmel, and the Shenandoah Rescue Hook & Ladder tiller truck bombarded the fire from above.
Firefighters worked for nearly an hour to bring the blaze under control.
The intensity of the fire, Orth said, melted siding and burst windows across 11th Street.
In daylight Monday morning, as Ashland firefighters surveyed the damage, the rear portion was a blackened shell of its former self. Its interior had been gutted.
The roof of the front section appeared to have been extensively damaged.
No damage estimate was available, though Orth said the building was insured.
The cause remains under investigation by state police fire marshal Joseph Hall, who sifted through the ruins Monday morning.
Responding with Ashland were Rangers Hose Company, Girardville; Friendship Fire Company No. 1, Englewood; Anthracite Steam Fire Company, Mount Carmel; Atlas Fire Company No. 1; Altamont Fire Company; and Lavelle Volunteer Fire Company.
The West End Fire Company No. 1, Kulpmont, sent its Rapid Intervention Team. The Schuylkill County Incident Management Team also responded.

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