LANCASTER TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - A fire tears through a Lancaster County apartment complex leaving 45 people without a home. Friday afternoon, some of those displaced by the fire voiced concerns about how and why the fire started.
“They played with everybody’s life in there," said Enrique Matos, displaced by the fire.
Matos says for the last two weeks his neighbors were having problems with their furnace, and property management was slow to fix the problem, something he says he's also experienced.
“They [property management] just kept turning it on saying everything was okay," said Matos. "It kept making noise and spark noise but they [property management] told them no, everything is okay.”
The furnace Matos told us about is at the center of the fire's investigation.
“We’re looking at possibly something to do with electrical or furnace issues going on in the building," said Lancaster Township Assistant Chief Steve Roy.
FOX43 stopped by the property's on-site management office to try to get answers about the possible furnace issues but were told there was no one on-site we could speak with.
FOX43 called The Solomon Organization, which is the apartment's corporate management. They issued this statement when asked about the furnace issues:
The fire marshal will make a determination as to the cause of the fire, and any speculation is premature and irresponsible.
The fire department says the apartment building will have to be torn down but there's no timeline on when that will happen.