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Crews Respond To Second-Alarm Fire At Americana House Apartments

This is a breaking story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

Update, 1 p.m.: Monday morning’s Americana House Apartments fire remains under investigation, according to Centre Region Fire Director Steve Bair.

Although its cause remains unclear, the blaze was contained in one apartment and extinguished in about 25 minutes. No damage was reported to other parts of the building.

Additionally, according to police Lieutenant Greg Brauser, officials were concerned about “unusual objects” found in the apartment that housed the fire. After further investigation, nothing criminal or dangerous was discovered, and residents were permitted to return.

Update, 11 a.m.: Crews at Americana House appear to have dispersed from the scene of a reported fire Monday morning.

By morning, no emergency workers were found outside the building. Just a few hours earlier, dozens of firefighters and police officers were working outside.

Grace Cunningham | Onward State

A Penn State student whose friend lives at Americana House said the complex’s residents were permitted to return to the building at around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Currently, the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. No injuries have been reported as of 11 a.m. Monday.

Original Story: Emergency responders responded to a second-alarm fire at a downtown State College apartment building early Monday morning.

Alpha Fire Company was dispatched at 12:17 a.m. for a reported fire inside an Americana House apartment located at 119 Locust Lane. According to Centre County dispatch, a couch was on fire, and the blaze spread inside the apartment.

Gabe Angieri | Onward State

Boalsburg Fire Company was initially dispatched to the scene at 12:23 a.m. alongside Centre LifeLink EMS but canceled before arriving. By 12:50 a.m., no flames were visible from the building.

State College police asked the crowd assembled outside to move back, and just after 1 a.m., told them to move back to McAllister Street. It was not immediately known why the crowd was being moved from the area.

Additional fire police were dispatched to the area at about 1:25 a.m.

Penn State Residence Life was contacted to assist displaced student residents of the building, according to the dispatch.

No injuries have been reported as of 1:30 a.m.


StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.

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About the Author

Matt DiSanto

Matt proudly served as Onward State’s managing editor for two years until graduating from Penn State in May 2022. Now, he’s off in the real world doing real things. Send him an email ([email protected]) or follow him on Twitter (@mattdisanto_) to stay in touch.

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