BROOKLYN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Firefighters from multiple fire departments were at a property off Main Street near Hop Bottom after a brush fire spread to a storage barn, destroying it.
A picture sent to Newswatch 16 by a viewer shows the heavy flames engulfing the building before crews were able to get it under control.
Hop Bottom Fire Chief Pete Macca says it's unclear exactly how the fire started.
“We're not sure exactly if they were burning brush in the back. somehow the storage barn caught on fire, and then we had a brush fire extension to two structures when we got on the scene, so we got those knocked down,” said Chief Macca. “The barn was completely on the ground now so we're just doing mop up at this time.”
Homeowner Joe Cowen wasn't exactly clear on how the fire started, just that he lost control of it.
“It got away from me. I was watching it, couldn't put it out. It went right up to the building. I was in the other yard. It got away from me,” said Cowen. “Brush fire, I called the communications center. Everything was good. There was no wind. I turned around. The wind picked up. I couldn't put it out.”
An apartment building near where the barn once stood sustained damage after flames melted the siding. Tenant Sabrina Burris lives in that building and believes it's OK for them to return home.
“Yeah, that's what we assumed because there was no damage or anything from the fire,” said Burris. “We were helping the firefighters put it out.”
“Thank everybody that came. Nobody got hurt. It's a loss. Thank God nobody got hurt. I want to thank all the fire companies,” said Cowen.
The fire chief confirmed that people living in the apartment complex will able to stay there as only the siding was damaged.