What to Know
- Authorities say a fast-moving fire that roared through a Berks County, Pennsylvania, row home killed a woman and a teenage girl. But a third person was able to safely escape the burning home in Reading after the fire broke out late Saturday night.
- The city fire marshal’s office says arriving fire crews reported flames shooting out of the first and second floors.
- The woman and teen were trapped inside the burning home, and their bodies were found after crews brought the blaze under control. Their names haven't been released.
Two people died in Reading, Berks County, late Saturday when a fire so large that it required all on-duty firefighters in the city to respond broke out at a row home.
Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting out of the first and second floors of the home on the 1200 block of Chestnut Street around 11 p.m. Saturday, Reading Fire Department Deputy Chief James Stoudt Jr. said. When crews were finally able to enter, they found two people dead on the first floor.
Officials could not immediately identify the deceased.
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A third person was able to safely escape the residence.
Though the flames were mostly contained to just the one home, the fire was so large that the department had to declare two alarms, triggering a response from all on-duty firefighters, as well as help from surrounding departments, Stoudt said.
Fire marshals, as well as state police, were investigating what triggered the blaze.
