1 hurt, 15 homeless after Pa. fire

2 of 4 apartments in the building were destroyed; others sustained minimal damage

By Jennifer Todd
The Intelligencer Journal/New Era

LANCASTER, Pa. — With an emptiness in his eyes, David Santiago watched as thick, black smoke billowed from his Lancaster Township apartment building Sunday evening. With the bulk of the flames knocked down, the damage was unmistakable — and unimaginable.

"I've lost everything," Santiago said, staring blankly at the charred remains of the first-floor apartment he shared with his mother. "I didn't even know what to say. I'm numb. I can't believe it."

Just before 5 p.m., county dispatch received multiple calls reporting a fire at the River Park Gardens complex in the 1100 block of East Orange Street, across from the former Community Hospital of Lancaster. Fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from the building and flames shooting from first- and second-floor windows, Lafayette Deputy Chief Scott Hershey said.

Hershey said smoke from the fire could be seen from the Lafayette fire station on Lincoln Highway, which is about two miles away. Santiago said he wasn't home when the blaze broke out. He had left a few minutes earlier, but returned home after getting a phone call about the fire.

His mother, his sister and his two young sons — ages 4 and 5 — were in the apartment but were able to escape. Santiago said his mother was taken to Lancaster General Hospital, but he did not immediately know her condition. Dave Keens, Lafayette assistant fire chief, said late Sunday that he did not believe the woman's injuries were life-threatening. He said she would remain at Lancaster General overnight for observation.

No other injuries were reported.

Keens said the blaze started in a first-floor apartment — where Santiago lived — but said the cause was undetermined Sunday night.

He said he did not have a damage estimate.

Two of the four apartments in the building were destroyed, with the others sustaining minimal damage, Keens said. He said the durable construction of the brick structure likely helped confine the blaze to one side of the building. Keens said all the occupants of the building — about 15 residents — were being assisted by American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley on Sunday night.

Lafayette was assisted at the scene by fire units from Lancaster city, Lancaster Township, Eden, Witmer, Ronks, Willow Street and Lampeter.