HARRISBURG, Pa. — One person is dead and eight are displaced after a Harrisburg fire that saw three rowhomes go up in flames and a roof collapse, crews at the scene said.
Dauphin County 911 Dispatch says firefighters responded to the fire in the 200 block of North 15th Street at 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 12.
One person was found dead on the second floor of one of the residences, Harrisburg Bureau of Fire chief Brian Enterline said. Their identity and more information will be released by the coroner.
Firefighters are unable to determine what unit the fire started in, and Enterline says they may never know the cause of the blaze due to the extensive structural damage to the building.
"The second floor is partially intact collapsing into the first floor, and the third floor is totally obliterated," Enterline said. "So it's going to be a difficult task to determine what started the fire, and again, we may never know."
Crews attempting to subdue the blaze were thwarted by overhead power lines, close quarters of the adjoining apartment units of the building and sheer exhaustion—this fire was the second multiple-alarm fire in Harrisburg overnight. The first broke out in a duplex on Swatara Street around 10 p.m.
"The troops are beat up," Enterline said. "They did a tremendous job as they always do; this one just set us back a little bit."
Firefighters were also unable to attack the fire from the back of the residence due to the homes having adjoining backyards instead of an alleyway where crews could drive and park a firetruck. Firefighters ended up fighting the blaze from neighboring properties.
"The building started to collapse down on us shortly after arrival, so we ended up having to fight the building literally from the other properties next door by poking holes in their walls and putting water in as that building literally collapsed around us," Enterline said.
The fire reached four alarms; more emergency crews continued to respond throughout the morning. Firefighters are working to put out hotspots now.
The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire and Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the incident.
This is a developing story. FOX43 has a crew at the scene and will provide updates as more information becomes available.