The first fire started around 11 p.m. at an apartment in 1718 Center Street in North Cornwall Township. The fire burned for several hours forcing 22 people into the cold. The flames did a considerable amount of damage to the building. Red Cross volunteers are helping out the displaced. A cause is still under investigation.
“A lot of smoke. Hectic. The cops telling us to move back. Pretty hectic. About 30 feet off of the roof, it was really big. Coming through the roof and everything,” said eyewitness Timothy Cassidy.
The second fire broke out just about four hours later at 3:20 a.m. in a rowhome at 39 Walton Street in Lebanon. The man of the house tells FOX43 he was cooking something on the stove, when he went upstairs. When he came back down, the house was filled with smoke. He managed to get his sister out of the house but had to go back in to find her dog. They managed to get out but it wasn’t easy.
“I started off with a white towel but full of cough, smoke and vomit. It was just an unfortunate, freak accident. It could happen to anyone. It is just sad that it happened to us,” said fire victim Denarius Ervin.
Both fires remain under investigation.