By Steven Henshaw
Reading Eagle
READING, Pa. — Reading firefighters discovered a body in a self-storage unit after putting out a blaze that engulfed a row of lockers in the city’s 18th Ward, officials said.
Fire crews were dispatched shortly after 3:30 a.m. Sunday for an alarm at the facility in the first block of North Angelica Street, about a half-block east of Lancaster Avenue.
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The first-arriving crew reported heavy fire along a row of storage units. Firefighters forced open the units and extinguished the stubborn flames.
While pulling out material to put out hot spots, firefighters discovered the remains of a person inside one of the units. The Berks County coroner’s office was summoned.
The fire is under investigation by the city fire marshal’s office.
Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said Monday that officials are awaiting the result of the autopsy before commenting on the nature of the fire.
There was evidence that the victim was residing in the storage unit, he said
Storage units lack the required safety features of residences and aren’t designed for human occupation, he said.
Fires at these types of facilities are notoriously hazardous to emergency responders because, unlike most fires, crews have little idea of their contents.
In one of the neighboring units, fireworks or something similar were shooting out at firefighters. In another, there was a 20-pound propane tank that was a cause for concern.
Others contained motorcycles and auto parts.
All of the units sustained at least some smoke damage, Searfoss said.
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