One injured, four left homeless in Wilkes-Barre fire
By Mark Guydish, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Deputy Fire Chief
Klapat said there were three apartments, two with one resident each and one with three. He said one other resident had escaped and that the fire department confirmed the remaining residents were not in the building.
Neighbor
Jabers said the building has been in his family "since 1950," when his father, who had opened the original Silvertop diner in 1946 across the street, moved into what had been a furniture store. Jabers said when Dennis asked if he could buy the building and reopen a new Silvertop, he agreed with the idea. The two were waiting for approval of a liquor license from the state
"He just went to the LCB the other day and got approval," Jabers said.
Dennis said he had moved into an apartment and started renovating the place, including purchasing "
Klapat would not speculate on where the fire started, but Jabers said when he arrived flames were coming from a kitchen window. A neighbor called in the alarm, he said. "She said she heard explosions."
Klapat said the apparent explosions were windows being blown out by smoke.
Jabers said a tenant was awoken by a smoke alarm and "got out just in time."
The man, Jabers identified him as Bob, was barefoot and declined comment other than to note "I lost everything." He stood barefoot for nearly two hours before Pierson went to her house and got him some slippers.
Jabers said he received a call around
As Dennis watched the blaze being battled he quipped to Pierson that, once the firefighters left "we'll go in there with some paint" and start to fix the place up. But a few minutes later Klapat took a brief break to talk to media and said the roof had collapsed and the building "is a total loss."
Jabers said he has insurance but it's too early to tell whether he will try to rebuild.
Dennis said he would be staying with friends, but that he does not know what the other tenants will do. As the number of hoses still on dwindled to one on the ground and the ladder hoses, Klapat said the
Jabers held out hope the structure could be rebuilt thanks to the masonry exterior, but he also counted some losses. "I put a new roof on three years ago," he said, "I put a new furnace in six months ago." His office, which occupied a back room on the first floor, also was likely lost, he said.
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