A suspected electrical fire early Friday morning has displaced up to 12 families in Whitehall, according to Whitehall Division of Fire. No one was injured.
Firefighters from six fire departments spent hours putting out a suspected electrical fire. It started at about 3:15 a.m., and firefighters had it under control around 6 a.m.
Whitehall Division of Fire says a group of kids was playing Xbox when the plug began sparking. They unplugged the gaming system, moved a dresser and went to bed.
Resident Rhonda Mann has lived in the neighboring The Villages at Eden Crossing complex for seven years, and says she's sad for the people who lost their homes.
“We didn’t even know a fire was going on until about 5, 5:30,” Mann says. “So it’s very scary.”
Mann says she woke up to a swarm of firefighters battling the blaze that burned up the apartment building diagonally across from hers.
“You don’t think how fast fire spread," Mann says. "But now I see what happened in California. It spread very quickly."
Terri Lee lives nearby and says the situation upsets her as well.
“At this time during the holiday season, a lot of people don’t realize it, they should be thankful," Lee says. "They may have lost everything, but at least they didn’t lose their lives."
Nearby Brentnell Recreation Center opened up as a shelter for the fire victims. COTA and Whitehall City Schools also provided buses to help keep victims warm.
