Firemen Had Little Chance Of Halting Borough Blaze
by Bruce Whitman
First responders had little to no chance of saving any of the properties involved in an early Sunday morning fire on April 8 in Emporium.
An apartment house and a private residence at 541 E. Allegheny Ave. were destroyed in the fast moving inferno.
In addition, a vacant building across the street from the apartment house sustained surface damage to siding as did a residence to the rear of the blaze. One vehicle was severely damaged by fire and a second damaged by falling debris.
“I arrived on scene minutes after the dispatch (12:53 a.m.),” said Emporium Fire Chief Adam Johnson.
“At that time the apartment building was already 95 percent involved and the fire had spread next door to the Sarick residence,” continued Johnson. “At that point I called in a third alarm.”