On April 11th just before 1:30p.m. Mt. Penn was dispatched as the RIT company for a working structure fire in the 1600 block of W. Philadelphia Avenue(Route 73). Initial reports was a shed fire that had spread to the residence. First arriving units reported 2 houses well involved, the initial home where the fire was reported and the house next door. A second alarm with additional tankers was quickly requested as well. Command relieved Mt. Penn of RIT in order to perform fire suppression due to manpower and the amount of fire. A 3rd alarm was struck for additional manpower. Crews encountered heavy fire on all floors to the point that crews had to be briefly evacuated. On reentry much of the fire was quickly knocked down but extensive overhaul, pulling ceilings, opening walls, removing siding, had to be performed to ensure final extinguishment. The neighboring house also suffered extensive fire damage. Fortunately nobody was injured and all of the occupants were able to escape safely. Units were able to begin clearing shortly after 3p.m. The cause of this fire remains under investigation.
This was one of 7 calls Mt. Penn responded to today which kept us busy most of the day. Other calls included a working brush fire, 2 other structure fires, a carbon monoxide alarm and a small rekindle from a fire Monday.
