Fire Destroys Garage, Apartment Structure

A detached garage with a second-floor apartment at 323 Main St., Lower Frederick, is a probable "total loss," according to Scott Angstadt after a blaze burned out the rear portion of the structure in a Saturday evening fire.

The female tenant was home when the fire broke out shortly before 11 p.m.; she was able to safely leave the dwelling. No other fire-related injuries were reported. Around 2:30 a.m., Angstadt said a cause had yet to be determined.

It took responding fire companies--including Lower Frederick, Upper Frederick, , , and Upper Salford--about 30 minutes to control the blaze, Angstadt said. Nearly three hours later, some of the remaining crews were still hosing the site in order to prevent a fire from reigniting, Angstadt said. The chief explained that firefighters worked hard to ensure the blaze didn't spread to the main house on the property, and conducted a "defensive operation" to battle the flames. In a defensive operation, firefighters attack the blaze from outside a building.

According to next-door neighbors Paul and Eric Johnson, Eric saw the fire and woke up his father to alert him. Eric heard loud voices and saw flames about "six feet high," he said. Paul said that at first his son thought the neighbors were having a bonfire, but then the flames shot up to about "80 feet," burning the surrounding tree tops. Smoke billowed into the sky and could be seen from at least a block away as the blaze raged.

Neighbors reported hearing "booms" or explosions from the site. When asked about the noise, Angstadt replied that he thought he heard that, too, but wasn't sure what caused them. He did speculate that it may have been materials in the garage.

Fire police directed traffic away from the 300 block of Main Street, where the small street was line with fire companies' trucks.

PECO and also responded to the scene.

North Penn Goodwill Service arrived after midnight to provide the firefighters and EMS workers with food and drinks.