Raw video: Two dead in rowhouse fire in Mahanoy City, PA.

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Video and still pictures from JC Kriesher (jck5055) of FireandFilm.com of a double fatal fire around 2:00 this morning at 329 East Centre Street in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania (Schuylkill County). A third person was injured and flown out.

Frank Adruscavage, RepublicanHerald.com:

One man was removed from a first floor apartment and taken to the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy where a MedEvac helicopter landed.

Minutes later firefighters found a man and woman on the second floor of the building and brought the two down to awaiting emergency medical personnel.

 Although fire officials would not confirm any fatalities as a result of the fire pending notification of relatives, a deputy coroner was called to the scene and EMS personnel said two people did not survive. 

“At this point all I can say is that we removed three people from the building and they were all taken to area facilities,” said Anthony Blackwell, Mahanoy City Fire Department safety officer.

Here’s what JC wrote about the fire:

First responding units were advised that multiple calls were received for smoke and flames coming from the first floor of a rowhome. Assistant Chieff 455 arrived on the scene and confirmed the working fire with heavy fire from Side “A” and stated there was possible entrapment.

Tower 456 arrived on the scene and pulled past the address. Engine 451 took the address with Engine 454 directly behind them. Ladder 457 positioned next to E451. Crews stretched lines and set up the tower. A request for the second alarm was transmitted.

A patient was quickly removed from the building and handed off to EMS. After a quick assessment, EMS requested aeromedical to fly to a local landing zone to fly the patient to a burn center. Additional EMS units were requested into the scene as there were reports of two additional people unaccounted for.

Crews were making good progress on the fire and pulled the two additional people from the building. Conditions quickly changed and firefighters pulled out of the building as the smoke conditions worsened and fire began to vent from the third floor windows.

The heavy fire was knocked down with the deck gun from Engine 451 and crews re-entered the building. The bulk of the fire was knocked down within thirty minutes of the initial dispatch.