By Kathleen Brady Shea
The Philadelphia Inquirer
STRAFFORD, Pa. — A Strafford apartment complex where a three-alarm fire ravaged one of nine buildings Saturday morning resonated yesterday with sighs of relief.
“It was amazing how quickly they got everyone out,” said Lori Liberatore, manager of Strafford Station Apartments. “We were very fortunate.”
Liberatore said the fire started about 9:30 a.m. on the second floor of the three-story, 22-unit, brick building, where 19 units were occupied. Everyone was evacuated safely and led to an empty apartment, she said. The cause is under investigation, she said.
“We were sleeping and heard police on a bullhorn,” Sean Wright, 23, said.
Wright, who has lived at the Chester County complex with his girlfriend, Amy Maue, 24, for about five months, said emergency personnel, the Red Cross, and apartment employees responded quickly.
“They couldn’t have handled it better,” he said. “And I can’t say enough about the Red Cross and the apartment complex - they’ve really gone above and beyond.”
Dave Schrader, Red Cross spokesman, said the 60 victims were given vouchers for food and clothing.
The apartment owners are paying for the residents to stay in a local hotel until they can be moved to other units, Liberatore said, adding that the owners are waiving February’s rent. Most residents had insurance, she said.
She said she hoped to get a go-ahead today from fire officials to survey the damage; yesterday, the building was encircled in yellow police tape.
Wright said he was eager to see whether any possessions could be salvaged. On his way out of the apartment, one of the things he grabbed was a bag containing new work clothes.
A 2008 graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in actuarial science, Wright starts a new job today - as a claims adjuster.
Contact staff writer Kathleen Brady Shea at 610-696-3815
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