SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA – Shortly before midnight on December 7, the Shenandoah Fire Department was dispatched with Mahanoy City West End Rescue 993 and Shenandoah ALS to 30 E Poplar Street in Shenandoah for a reported business building fire. The caller stated there was smoke coming from an abandoned factory across from the address.
Squrt 745 was the first unit responding and arrived to find smoke showing from a three story abandoned factory. Engine 747 arrived and took the A side of the building while Engine 751 positioned behind the Squrt on the B side. Crews entered the building and began to search through the dilapidated factory. The first floor was cleared and crews ascended to the second floor where they found a moderate smoke condition.
Firefighters feverishly worked to locate the seat of the fire but found many obstacles in their way. While interior crews were working, a vagrant was seen exiting the building on the A side. Support personnel laddered the building.
A line was stretched into the building and up to the second floor. Crews found a small fire in a room in the middle of the building. A second line was stretched up a ladder and the fire was extinguished. Hydraulic ventilation was performed to clear the smoke. Crews began to pick up and were placed available in the early morning hours.
