Demolition begins at Lansford apartment site

The cause of a fierce apartment building fire in Lansford Thursday morning probably will never be known.

The blaze occurred in a sprawling, three-story building at Tunnel and East Ridge streets shortly after 4 a.m., leaving 11 people homeless.

State Police Fire Marshal Jamie Sgarlat, of the Hazleton barracks, probed the debris Thursday in an attempt to find the cause.

Lansford Fire Chief Joe Greco said Sgarlat was unable to determine the cause because of the extensive damage the inferno caused.

Greco said it was determined the fire started in the kitchen area of a second floor apartment.

The building is owned by Edward Kanick, who has a real estate office, American First Real Estate, on the first floor.

He doesn’t know where he’ll relocate.

A two-story building next to Kanick’s was also damaged by fire. That structure houses Emil’s Barber Shop.

A demolition crew began tearing down the structure early Thursday after the borough’s engineer, Corey Perry of Lehigh Engineering, determined it to be unsafe.

Borough Council President Bruce Markovich said an emergency was declared because of the danger setting of the fire scene, allowing the demolition work to proceed. He said the front of the building faces Ridge Street, which is part of the borough’s business district.

The demolition was being done by J. P. Radocha and Sons of Coaldale.

Lehigh Anthracite provided the long-reach excavator.

The second and third floors, which sustained the bulk of the fire damage, were knocked down by Thursday night.

The demolition work couldn’t begin until about 5 p.m. after a utility company removed some exterior telephone lines.

Firefighters remained on the scene from 4 a.m. yesterday until well after 8 p.m.

The fire was declared under control by mid morning but fire crews remained at the scene because of the pending demolition and unsafe situation of the building.

Also at the scene was Mark Nalesnik, Carbon County’s Emergency Management Coordinator. Nalesnik first responded as a member of the Nesquehoning Fire Department and fought the blaze from the fire company’s ladder truck. By 8 a.m., he was forced to switch hats and serve as the EMA director at the scene.

The 11 people left homeless were assisted by the American Red Cross.

Greco has a lot of praise for the firefighters from neighboring fire departments and other agencies who responded.

“We had well over 10 (fire departments) involved,” he said. “Thankfully, everybody worked well and got the job done with no injuries.”

Two firefighters were transported to a hospital after reportedly suffering smoke inhalation.

Greco said besides the fire departments, assistance was received from two ambulance squads, several police departments, fire police, PPL Electric, the local water authority and borough officials. Several council members were at the scene most of the day.

The fire scene is across the street from Marco’s Pizza. The eatery didn’t sustain any damage and opened for business as usual yesterday.