There were no injuries, but multiple families were displaced in a Friday afternoon fire at 5 Kiwanis Court.
Lt. Cathy Mealy of the Bradford City Fire Department said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“The good news is, the (emergency crews) did an excellent job,” she said. “No one was injured. Everyone gets to go home at the end of the day.”
City firefighters were dispatched at 3:20 p.m., then Derrick City and Bradford Township volunteer fire departments were asked to assist. Derrick City was put on standby at their station, and Bradford Township was put on standby as a Rapid Intervention Team, which Mealy explained means they come to the scene with an engine and crew to help if something happens to the first crew.
She said 16 city firefighters and approximately 10 Bradford Township firefighters helped on scene. “We were also assisted on scene by Bradford City Police,” said Mealy.
After the fire, a state police fire marshal was brought in to assist with the investigation, and no cause was determined as of Friday night, Mealy said. She said the fire remains under investigation.
Mealy explained that there are four apartments units in each section — two upstairs and two downstairs, and the fire started in one of the upstairs apartments, 5C.
“The fire itself was contained to that unit,” she said.
However, there was smoke damage to the other upstairs apartment, and both downstairs apartments sustained water damage, according to Mealy. Tenants in all four apartments were displaced.
While all four apartments had tenants, no one was inside the two upstairs apartments at the time of the blaze. Tenants in the downstairs apartments were home, but they were able to get out safely, she said..
Kab Bruno, maintenance supervisor for Kiwanis Court, said the apartment that caught fire had been occupied by a husband and wife and four children. They were already in the process of relocating.
Bruno said tenants in the other three apartments will be able to stay in different Kiwanis Court units. These include a family of four, a family of three and a family of one.
The Kiwanis Court Complex is own by Bashkim and Christine Sina of Brooklyn, N.Y., Bruno said.
He noted that a four-foot thick firewall between 5 Kiwanis Court and the neighboring sections prevented the fire from spreading across the row of buildings.
Mealy agreed the firewall helps keep fires contained, but said sheetrock in the firewall has a certain rating. The firewall only protects neighboring apartments for so long, which might only be an hour or two, depending on the rating.
Quick work by everyone involved helped to keep the situation in check, according to Mealy.
“Neighbors recognized there was a problem,” said Mealy, who explained that one called 911 and they evacuated the building. “Quick thinking on their part kept people from getting hurt.”
She explained the downstairs neighbors were vigilant and made sure people got out of the apartment.
She noted that it was good the neighbors didn’t try to investigate the fire before getting out — they just got out, left doors closed behind them and called 911.
Everyone was out when firefighters arrived, which helped because the operation changes when there are people trapped in the building.
During a situation like that, “Time is critical,” she said.
At the scene, Charles Fanning, who lives nearby, said he and his friend, Ed, with whom he works at Players, crawled under the smoke and hollered inside to ensure there was no one left inside.
“As soon as I opened that door, black smoke billowed out,” Fanning said, describing the experience.
“I couldn’t see; I couldn’t breathe,” Fanning added. “I have so much more respect for fire now.” Despite the danger, he saw no option but to check for occupants. “We had to. I know there’s kids that live there.”
Mealy said she “really appreciated the cooperation” of the other agencies, as well her own department. She said maintenance was “extremely helpful,” too.
“I think our guys did a great job today,” she said. “It could have been much worse than it was.”
They kept the fire in check by using a transitional attack: putting water on the fire right away, then sending the interior crew in to fight it inside.
As of Friday night, Mealy had not called the American Red Cross to assist the families, as all the 5 Kiwanis Court residents said they had somewhere else to stay. However, she was getting ready to contact the organization to have them advise the tenants.
She noted that the fire marshal allowed the tenants from the three smoke or water damaged apartments to retrieve any belongings they could.
