WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — About 400 people were evacuated from their apartments after a fire early Friday, the township fire chief said.
No injuries were reported in the blaze, which broke out about 2:50 a.m. at the Independence Square Apartments, 1 Maryland Circle, near Lehigh Valley Mall.
Whitehall Fire Chief Mark Bilder said most of the residents will be able to return to their apartments, but 12 units received smoke and heat damage.
Firefighters rescued six people from their balconies and no injuries were reported, according to the chief.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Bilder said firefighters arriving at the complex found fire that was contained to a second-floor storage room.
Firefighters faced heavy smoke and heat on the second floor of the apartment building, which is made up of a series of connected buildings.
“People started pounding on the door saying there’s a fire, and I’m like ‘Oh my God, we gotta get outta here.’ I was freaked out. This is a nice place. At 3 a.m., it’s kind of shocking to have all that chaos.”Jaquan Bonaparte, resident
Bilder said firefighters were called at 2:50 a.m. because of an automatic fire alarm and the Lehigh County communications center received several calls for heavy smoke in the building.
On Friday morning, residents milled about the outside of the apartments waiting for word on when they could get back home.
'We gotta get out of here'
Jaquan Bonaparte, who has lived in the apartments for about five years, said he smelled something like gasoline while fleeing the building.
“My mom was, like, ‘Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” he said. “I didn’t know what was going on.
"This is a nice place. At 3 a.m., it’s kind of shocking to have all that chaos.”Independence Square Apartments resident Jaquan Bonaparte
“People started pounding on the door saying there’s a fire, and I’m like ‘Oh my God, we gotta get outta here.’ I was freaked out.
"This is a nice place. At 3 a.m., it’s kind of shocking to have all that chaos.”
The American Red Cross was on the scene Friday morning, offering assistance.
Peter Brown, executive director of the Red Cross’ Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter, said it was too early to say how many people might need assistance.
The agency was assisting people from at least 10 apartments, he said.
An evacuation center has been set up at Temple Beth El, 1305 Springhouse Road, South Whitehall Township, to provide residents affected by the fire with comfort, care, food, resources and other emergency assistance.
The Red Cross said caseworkers will continue to help the impacted residents in the days and weeks ahead.
Anyone in need of Red Cross assistance should call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). All Red Cross disaster assistance is free.
