Topics

More

Two Residents Taken To Hospital, Home Destroyed After Second-Alarm Fire

Two residents were taken to the hospital and several first responders were treated for injuries after a second-alarm fire at a State College house Thursday afternoon.

Centre Region Fire Director Steve Bair said the home at 801 Crabapple Court is “a total loss.”

Alpha and Boalsburg fire companies were dispatched at 2 p.m. for a reported dwelling fire with entrapment and found flames “blowing out of every window and every door possible,” Bair said.

Five State College police officers and a public works employee who was nearby were first on the scene and rescued one adult resident who needed help getting out. She and the other resident were both taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment and evaluation. The officers and public works employee also were treated for minor injuries.

“If it wasn’t for the efforts of the police department, we would probably be dealing with a fatal fire,” Bair said. “A terrific job by the police department and the public works employee… The fact that they were all injured with minor injuries I would expect they encountered extremely high heat and very choking smoke.

“This is courageous, very courageous. I think it stands as testament to the kind of people that work around here in local government.”

Centre LifeLink EMS and Penn State University Ambulance Service provided medical treatment and transport.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. “Every fire marshal in the Centre Region,” was on the scene investigating, Bair said, and he expected “many hours of work” ahead.

“At this time we do not have a reason to believe the fire is suspicious,” he said

He added that neighbor witnesses described a rapid-growth fire.

“We don’t know what it is about this house that caused this fire to grow so rapidly at this point,” Bair said.

Westerly Parkway between Corl and Hamilton streets was closed to traffic until about 3:30 p.m. Hedgerow Drive also was closed.

Your ad blocker is on.

Please choose an option below.

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter:
OR
Support quality journalism:
Purchase a Subscription!

About the Author

Geoff Rushton (StateCollege.com)

Geoff Rushton is managing editor for StateCollege.com. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter at @geoffrushton.

Staff Predictions: No. 4 Penn State vs. Minnesota

The last time Penn State visited Minnesota was in 2019 when the No. 17 Golden Gophers upset the No. 4 Nittany Lions 31-26.

[Photo Story] Lighting Up Downtown State College

Happy Holidays, folks!

‘I’m Fired Up’: Mike Rhoades Sounds Off On Penn State Hoops’ Class Of 2025 Signees

This was the highest-ranked class in Penn State history.

113kFollowers
164kFollowers
62.7kFollowers
4,570Subscribers
Sign up for our Newsletter