Fire hits apartment building on North Street
Multiple residents of a Butler apartment building at 427 W. North Street were displaced, although none suffered serious injury, as a result of a fire which took place Sunday night, Oct. 12.
The fire was first reported around 6 p.m. According to Chris Switala, chief of the Butler City Bureau of Fire, the blaze ultimately damaged two apartments on the second floor of the three-story building.
“It did start with a mattress that was in a bedroom,” Switala said. “There were two apartments that were affected primarily. One was where the fire was. The apartment adjacent to it had smoke damage, and there’s a little bit of water damage in the hallways.”
Residents were still in the apartments when the fire took place, but were ultimately rescued.
“We did rescue one person from the fire apartment via ladder,” Switala said. “In the apartment across the hall we pulled out an adult and two children, as well as two cats. Everybody was fine. Nobody needed any medical treatment.”
Switala added that the cause of the fire is to be investigated.
All residents of the building were evacuated, but those that lived in non-damaged apartments were eventually allowed to return. However, both fire-damaged apartments are in non-livable condition for the moment, according to Switala.
The American Red Cross was called in to provide emergency shelter for four displaced individuals -- two adults and two children.
“Right now we have the power turned off to those units,” Switala said. “There’s too much smoke damage in there to make them tenable, at least for tonight.”
Crews from Butler City Bureau of Fire, Butler Township Volunteer Fire Department, VA Butler Fire & Emergency Services, Herman Volunteer Fire Department, Butler Ambulance and City Butler Police responded to the call, and were able to get the fire under control “within a half-hour,” according to Switala.
