EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Workers with a business in the Poconos spent Thursday morning helping fire victims after flames ruined apartments and a salon.
It was not the way tenants of the building in East Stroudsburg wanted to start the New Year. Some people were forced out into the cold.
Thursday morning's fire ruined several apartments and a first-floor salon on South Courtland Street.
"I opened my door and saw smoke coming out of his apartment, and I just yelled his name and ran out of the house and called the fire department," said Ingrid Cunningham, East Stroudsburg.
Newswatch 16 was not able to get in touch with the owner of JTH Salon. Staff members posted on the Facebook page.
It reads in part: "There is no telling the extent of the damage as of yet. We will keep you all informed as soon as we know more."
A state police fire marshal spent most of the day trying to find the cause.
When fire crews first arrived, it was believed someone may have been trapped inside. The search came up empty.
Investigators tell Newswatch 16 the tenant has since been accounted for.
A bartender at Rudy's already happened to be at work when the flames started, so he invited the fire victims in.
"I seen some of the tenants out there wrapped in their bedsheets and pajamas. I said, 'You guys want to come in, just come in and sit down,'" said Frank Gimzek, Rudy's Tavern.
Rudy's open at 8 a.m. Frank Gimzek comes in early each morning to prep for the day. He heard the sirens and saw the flames.
"They were 10, 15 feet high coming out of the top. It was going. It was really ripping," said Gimzek.
At this time, investigators are calling the cause undetermined.
The Red Cross is helping tenants who were put out by the flames.