SCRANTON, Pa. — The day's spring sunshine shows the destruction left behind on an apartment building on the 200 block of Emmett Street in Scranton.
Skycam 16 gave us a view of the roof damage and the destruction inside after flames ripped through four apartments.
"I was home upstairs. My wife said some sparks were shooting from the far wall in the kitchen. A neighbor said there was smoke coming from the roof," said Raymond Burks, fire victim.
"Fire department was notified of a fire on the roof at about ten after eleven this morning. When crews got on scene, they found smoke coming from multiple areas of the complex behind me," said Chief John Judge, Scranton Fire Department.
Everyone who lived in the apartments made it out safely.
During the blaze, crews blocked a portion of the Lackawanna Heritage Trail to fight the fire.
The fire chief says before crews switched to a defensive approach from the outside, some firefighters were injured inside.
"They were attempting to locate the fire. They found some fire in the wall, and at some point, we had an incident inside the building where either a flash over or a smoke explosion occurred. We had one of our firefighters fall through the floor a couple others received some minor burns. Three of them had been transported to the hospital at this time with non-life-threatening injuries," said Chief Judge.
"Oh, yeah, I was plenty scared. I just made sure my family was all together, and I got my dog out," said Burks.
The Scranton fire chief tells Newswatch 16 that the Red Cross and the Scranton Housing Authority will be assisting the people who lived there with housing.
The damage is so extensive, that it will be a while before anyone can return, if at all.
"I call my parents to see if they can help out and my sister out on the west coast. So I'm hoping that we can get things together and get back on our feet as soon as possible," said Burks.
At the time of the fire, the entire complex was without water and power, as it's all on one system, according to the chief. Utility crews are working to see if the unaffected buildings by the fire can be separately serviced.
The cause of the fire is under investigation in Scranton.
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