A six-alarm Allentown fire at an old industrial building on the 300 block of North Front Street forced nearby residents out of their homes Wednesday night and damaged seven houses across the street. Firefighters were brought in from more than two dozen nearby departments before the blaze was brought under control after about two hours.
Crews were called to the scene around 8:45 p.m., and firefighters had to pull back from the building to avoid collapses even as police and firefighters moved residents away. People on the 300 block of Front Street were asked to leave through their backyards, while other nearby residents were told to shelter in place.
The fire’s reach went beyond the block itself. PPL Electric Utilities shut off power in the area, and as of 5 a.m. more than 1,600 customers were without electricity before that number dropped to about 1,000. One firefighter sustained minor injuries and is expected to recover.
The American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania said it was responding, and fire officials urged displaced residents to contact the Red Cross or the Allentown fire marshal's office. What caused the fire at the old industrial building was not immediately clear, and the damaged homes were left with the kind of harm that can range from repairable to uninhabitable, depending on what the heat, smoke and water reached inside.
For Allentown, the immediate crisis was contained by daybreak, but the next step is the one that will matter most to the people forced out: how much of their homes can be saved, and how quickly they can get back in.
