LEHIGHTON – An apartment building in Carbon County was hit by fire twice within a matter of hours.
Smoke filled North Second Street in Lehighton as fire crews worked to put out a second fire at the apartment building.
A first fire broke out Sunday around 11 p.m. on the first floor, and then again Monday around 8 a.m.
Jose Burgos is one of 10 people who lived inside the seven-unit building.
"I actually got up out the building screaming, 'Fire, fire, fire!'" said Jose Burgos. "I almost fell down the stairs and everyone got away safe and I mean everyone got out and it's just really sad that this happened."
Because of the damage, officials decided the building needed to be knocked down.
A cause is still under investigation.
Lehighton Fire Chief Patrick Mriss says the weather didn't make battling this fire easy.
"The movement on the fire ground was definitely a lot slower. Everything that the water touches, it instantly freezes and turns to ice so it slowed down the operations, hindering some operations and tactics."
Less than two months ago, another fire destroyed a double-block home nearby.
People who live on this street are upset to see something like this happen again.
Gabrielle Hardy lives just three houses down from the apartment building. She says fire officials made everyone in her house evacuate for safety.
"It's terrifying," said Hardy. "It's just like when the houses here caught on fire, like, a month and a half ago, like, you wake up and you see orange out your windows and you are petrified."
Because of the fire, some residents in this area may find themselves without power. A shelter has been set up at the Lehighton Recreation Center.
The hope is to have some power restored by Monday night.
