READING, Pa – An example of a Reading neighborhood coming together as flames arrived on their doorstep.
“We did a good job as a community to like help one another out,” said Odeny Fernandez, who lives in one of the homes damaged by the fire.
“Ran downstairs, told my wife, woke her up. My wife got the baby and my daughter. I got the two dogs, husky and a bully, ran outside, smoke everywhere,” Fernandez said.
“It looks like it melted their roof here,” added Jessica Kindt, who says the flames came right up to her house.
They thought it was done.
“We thought the fire was over,” Kindt said. “We’re all out back, and all of a sudden, the roof next to the one house caught on fire. Oh my God, we’re literally two houses away if that keeps going.”
The Reading fire marshal is now searching for the cause following the Tuesday night fire that damaged homes in the 1500 block of Mulberry Street.
Fire damage could be seen Wednesday morning, most visibly in the back of the homes. Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss believes the fire started on the first floor of one of the homes.
Images provided by Reading Firefighters Local 1803 show flames shooting out of the homes.
“We are gonna go to some family in south Jersey,” Fernandez said.
Now, just about a week out from the Thanksgiving holiday…
“Those poor people literally have nowhere to live now,” Kindt said.
“We are safe, and that’s what really matters. No one got hurt,” Fernandez added.
The Red Cross is assisting three people affected by the fire.