1/1/13 - Middletown Borough, PA - E. Main Street

Around 0300 hours Dauphin County Box 88-2 sent units to 239 E. Main Street for an apartment building fire with possible entrapment. Multiple calls were being received as well as reports of multiple people trapped. With that info the responding duty officer upgraded the box to first alarm status before the arrival of apparatus. Engine 88 (Middletown) arrived on location with heavy fire from the rear of a 3 story, mixed occupancy structure and secured a hydrant at E. Main and Race Streets. Truck 88 (Middletown) took a position on side D and companies began an aggressive interior attack and search/rescue operations. Additional companies began arriving and secured additional water supplies and assisting crews working inside. Due to rapidly spreading fire conditions firefighters retreated and used exterior master streams to knock down the bulk of the fire. Command 88 requested the second alarm to the scene. Fire continued to burn in the top floor and roof area concealed in multiple void spaces. Crews also prevented extension to a rear attached, one story, row of apartments. Extensive overhaul would be required to fully extinguish the flames. Command 88 marked control about an 1.5 hours into the incident. The fire building, which contained apartments on the top 2 floors and "Demp's Corner Pub" on the first floor suffered heavy fire, smoke, and water damage.