Man, teenage nephew dead after multi-alarm fire in Allentown, Pa.

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Monday, July 27, 2020
Man, teenage nephew dead after multi-alarm fire in Allentown
A man and his teenage nephew were killed in a fire on Monday afternoon in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A man and his teenage nephew were killed in a fire on Monday in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The victims were identified as 44-year-old Alberto Santiago and 14-year-old Andres Ortiz.

The teen's 10-year-old sister Jhamiya Tate, who was not home at the time of the fire, told Action News what she wanted people to remember about her brother.

"He loved playing around with people, he loved saying good things about people," she said.

The fire erupted in the 700 block of North Fair Street.

Several other people escaped the fire from the second floor. All were 15 years old or younger.

"There was at least three, possibly four people who jumped out as our guys arrived. I know there were two kids," said Chief James Wehr of the Allentown Fire Department.

The fire went to three alarms before it was brought under control.

Three firefighters suffered heat exhaustion on a day where temperatures hovered near 100 degrees.

An investigation into the cause of this fire continues.

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