Far-reaching support prevented Allentown inferno from becoming ‘much bigger disaster’

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A massive fire along the city’s riverfront knocked down an old furniture factory and damaged seven rowhomes ablaze across the street late Wednesday night.

The six-alarm inferno kicked off around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday in the former American Atelier building and quickly spread as crews battled flames from North Street and Riverside Drive.

Lehigh Valley residents reported seeing flames and smoke as far away as Quakertown and Whitehall.
UntitledMore than two dozen residents, including six children, were displaced and are being helped by the Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter of the American Red Cross.

But the toll could’ve been much worse, according to officials.

"We are profoundly thankful to every individual and organization that answered the call."

Allentown Fire Department officials

Almost 200 firefighters helped bring the blaze under control after midnight and fill in at stations left understaffed by the massive response along the riverfront, according to officials. Many were still working to put out hotspots amid the destruction Thursday morning before crews started the demolition process.

That number included scores of firefighters from 21 other departments across the Lehigh Valley and a host of other local and regional agencies, according to the Allentown Fire Department.
UntitledAFD officials on Thursday offered their "deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation" to all who helped fight the flames, protect nearby homes and keep residents safe amid evacuations and shelter-in-place orders.

"The professionalism, rapid response, and collaborative spirit of our mutual aid partners were instrumental in achieving a successful outcome," the department said in a release. "We are profoundly thankful to every individual and organization that answered the call."

Mayor Matt Tuerk echoed that praise for departments and emergency workers from across the Lehigh Valley.

“Every one of our stations was staffed by some other department just to provide coverage should anything (else) happen,” Tuerk said Thursday morning. “That’s amazing.”

“The entire region came to support,” he said.

Without that crucial support, the blaze likely would have spread past the seven rowhomes that were damaged by the intense heat from the flame across Front Street.

“Reading the names on the trucks, you can get a real sense for mutual aid and how important it is that all these municipalities work together."

Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel

Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel also praised emergency workers from Allentown and well beyond. He watched the blaze and response from Riverside Drive on Wednesday night after seeing the smoke “billowing” when he left the Government Center.

The county’s special operations team is equipped with “sophisticated technology” to help monitor emergencies but did not deploy any Wednesday night; "the credit goes to the individual fire departments," Siegel said.

“Reading the names on the trucks, you can get a real sense for mutual aid and how important it is that all these municipalities work together,” Siegel said.

The six-alarm fire at the American Atelier factory “completely outstrip(ped) Allentown’s ability” to fight on its own, Siegel said, voicing his “incredible admiration for all of the first responders tonight.”

“Given where this building is and how close it is to all these older homes, this could have become a real serious, life-threatening situation very fast,” Siegel said. “This could have spread and become a much bigger disaster.”

Fire officials and the Allentown Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division were at the scene of the blaze Thursday alongside agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. No cause has been determined, according to officials.

The burned out building continued to smolder into Thursday evening as crews wrapped up demolition for the day.