1 DEAD, 3 INJURED IN MASSIVE NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA APARTMENT COMPLEX FIRE
February 4,
2015
NORRISTOWN, PA
A
woman died and three other people, including a firefighter, were injured in a
massive overnight blaze at a Norristown apartment building.
Montgomery
County dispatchers said the four-alarm fire at the Norris Apartments on the 600
block of Swede Street was reported at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The
blaze was initially reported in the basement, but firefighters encountered
heavy flames throughout the building and had to make rescues from all four
floors, fire officials said.
A
Red Cross spokesman said 15 people were provided hotel rooms for Wednesday
night. A shelter established at Norristown High School earlier in the day has
been closed.
The
Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia was also helping the victims. The agency
said it planned to serve meals to 45 people, including residents and emergency
responders, at the temporary shelter through Thursday morning. The agency said
it would provide other assistance as needed.
Officials
said the fire apparently spread through a trash chute.
"Crews
had their hands full when they got here," Fire Chief Thomas O'Donnell told
reporters at the scene.
The
woman died despite efforts to rescue her from her fourth-floor apartment, fire
officials said. Her name was not released.
Three
others were taken to hospitals for treatment of various injuries, dispatchers
said.
O'Donnell
said one of the injured was a firefighter who cut his hand.
Firefighters
battled the blaze, during which the roof and fourth-floor walls in the rear of
the building collapsed, for several hours.
The
fire was under control by early Wednesday, though crews remained on the scene
to damp down embers and flames.
The
Fire Department said the collapsed roof and walls as well as icy streets and
sidewalks posed significant challenges for firefighters. Portions of the
building will need to be taken down, fire officials said.
The cause and origin of the
fire remains under investigation, although it is believed that it started in the basement inside a trash can.