Crews battle massive 4-alarm rowhome fire in Reading; 4 houses damaged

READING, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A four-alarm fire erupted at a rowhome in Reading on Sunday night.

Officials say the blaze started around 5:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of North 11th Street.

The fire chief says it was a fast-moving fire that quickly spread to other rowhomes next to it.

In total, four homes were burned or damaged, officials say.

Neighbors are still waiting to see if they can return to their buildings.

"We arrived to heavy smoke, fire venting from the first floor rear and the basement area," said Deputy Fire Chief Larry Moyer.

Neighbors told Action News the smoke could be seen from blocks away. Families in multiple homes rushed to escape the flames.

"We had reports that everybody was out, obviously we always do a search and rescue at the same time," said Moyer.

Moyer said it took approximately three hours to fight the fire.

"We had a lot of hidden spaces of fire that we had to expose," he said. "That's why we had so many firemen here."

There are no reported injuries from the blaze.

Investigators are working to assess the extent of the damage as well as determine a cause.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect four homes were impacted by the fire, not five.