Published: July 10, 2009 12:06 am      

Nanty Glo fire forces evacuation

NANTY GLO — An apartment in The Nanty Glo House, a50-unit residential complex, was damaged by fire and smoke and several adjoining apartments received smoke damage early Thursday.

Residents of the complex – awakened by sirens and even by firefighters knocking on doors – were evacuated from the building for about two hours, fire Chief Joe LaMantia said.

Many of the evacuees were taken by ambulances and fire vehicles to the fire hall until the structure was cleared of smoke, he said.

An elderly man who lived in the apartment damaged by the fire was taken to Memorial Medical Center as a precautionary measure to be checked for possible smoke inhalation, the chief said. The man, whose identity was not released, was to be released from the hospital later in the day, LaMantia said.

A smoldering cigarette started the fire in the apartment’s bedroom the chief said. The fire was determined to be accidental.

A damage estimate was not immediately available.

The apartment complex at 119 Briar Court was built in the early 1990s. It is a two-story structure made up of three wings. Assessment and deed records at the county courthouse list the owner as Gleichman & Co. Inc., of Portland, Maine.

An apartment resident called Cambria 911 at 4:15 a.m, and a fire-alarm system at the complex also alerted authorities, LaMantia said.

Volunteer firefighters from the Nanty Glo, Revloc and Colver companies responded along with the Blacklick Emergency Medical Service.