Four Hundred Residents Evacuated From Apartment Fire
Photo by KEN SNYDEROutside smoke condition.
Photo by KEN SNYDERA couple was brought down from second floor bacony (man w bb cap & female).
Photo by KEN SNYDERT-36 positions to rescue occupant from the third floor.
Photo by KEN SNYDERSecond floor occupants await rescue with T-36.
Photo by KEN SNYDERTower 36 checks out the roof condition.
Photo by KEN SNYDERThis lady that was safely brought down from the third floor balcony.
Fullerton- The Lehigh County 911 Center received an activated alarm for an apartment fire on October 25th at 2:54 a.m., to which the Whitehall Fire Department responded. This large three story complex is called Independence Square Apartments, located at 1 Maryland Circle and consisting of 132 apartments. Incoming companies had a smoke condition circulating through out the massive building coming from a second floor storage closet fire . As firefighters were waking up residents for rescue, the medical community was alerted for a Level 3 Mass Causality Incident. Some four hundred residents were eventually evacuated from the building. They spent time in their cars, with neighbors or went to a Red Cross shelter set up at Temple Bethel El 1395 Spring House Rd. in South Whitehall Twp.The blaze went to three alarms with six out of the twelve affected apartments receiving severe heat and water damage. Balcony rescues were made by ground ladders or by Fullerton's tower truck. Thankfully, there were no major injuries.