John Blickley of the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency says the fire on the 10th floor of the 13-story Mahanoy Elderly High Rise in Mahanoy City was reported at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday. He says residents of the 124-unit complex were evacuated, and an emergency center set up at a nearby community center. The blaze was reported under control at 3:20 p.m.
A fire department official told The (Pottsville) Republican-Herald that one resident was admitted to Saint Catherine Medical Center Fountain Springs for treatment of smoke-related respiratory problems.
Trooper John Burns, a state police fire marshal, said the blaze was accidentally sparked by improperly discarded smoking materials.
