As the flames quickly spread inside this apartment building on McAlpine Street in Avoca, passersby sprang into action to alert those inside.

AVOCA, Pa. — Flames ripped through this apartment building on McAlpine Street in Avoca just before 10 a.m. on Saturday. According to firefighters, 5 people lived inside.

Kelly McLaughlin from Avoca says she was taking a detour along McAlpine Street to grab her morning coffee when she and another man saw the flames bursting out of the third-floor window. “We both started running around, banging on the doors to get everybody aware. There was one lady outside in the back. I believe that was her apartment where it started, and there was a family in the downstairs apartment.”

As she banged on the home’s doors, McLaughlin says, in what seemed like a matter of seconds, the flames overtook the inside of the building. “By the time we came from the back and back out to the front again, it was, it really took off at that point.”

By the time crews from Avoca, Laflin, and Duryea fire departments arrived, all five people were out safely. According to Fire Chief Thomas Matthews of the Avoca Fire Department, an unknown number of pets did not make it out. 

Power was cut to several homes along the street as crews worked to contain the flames. Several neighbors stepped outside to see the damage.

Neighbor Gerald Woodward says, “I came to look, and that’s when I saw a bunch of trucks. I’ve never seen this many fire trucks in one area at one time, and then the lights went out, so I came out to ask the neighbors if their lights were out as well. The gentleman over here said yes, their lights were out too.”

The Red Cross was called to help those affected by the fire. Officials say a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal is currently investigating the cause of this fire in Avoca.