Devastating Fire Rips Through Delaware County Condo Complex
BROOKHAVEN, Pa. (CBS) -- Frigid weather conditions are creating extra hazards for crews fighting a blaze at a Delaware County condo building.
Officials say there are 18 units in at the Hilltop Condominiums and all of them were occupied at the time of this fire. They say one family of three had to be rescued by ladder.
"My first thoughts were, well there goes everything," resident Mike Martorell. "I mean, I have nothing."
He was on the phone when someone started banging on the door of his Brookhaven condo.
"I opened the door and asked what's going on and they said fire so I got out," he said.
Only then did he stand back and see the extent of devastation that had been unfolding.
Around 6 p.m. crews were called to the Hilltop Condominiums for a report of fire and a family trapped on a third floor balcony
"They were all brought down a ladder a 35 foot ladder from the 3rd floor balcony, said Charles Leslie, Brookhaven Borough Fire Marshal. "The family was safe no one got hurt."
In fact, out of all 18 units in the building, officials say not a single person or pet was injured.
But the frigid conditions made the situation that much harder to handle for both victims and firefighters.
"The ground is freezing, the water is freezing," Leslie said.
Even so the fire was under control an hour and a half after it started.
A day after Christmas, all could seem lost for these residents but Mike Martorell sees it differently.
"I'm here and that's the good thing so it's still a merry Christmas," he said.
Multiple witnesses tell CBS 3 that they saw one person be taken into police custody at the scene of the fire, but law enforcement at the scene say it was too early to confirm that.
Crews will be back on scene Wednesday to determine an exact cause of this fire and the Red Cross is helping the families affected.