An early-morning blaze damaged several buildings and left nearly two dozen people homeless in Bloomsburg. The fire spread quickly Sunday morning in downtown Bloomsburg and left behind a mess.
The fire started just before 6 a.m. in a building on West Main Street, and then spread to three other buildings.
The fire chief said one person had to be rescued and was flown to the hospital with burns. Officials said 21 other people now have no place to live. Many of them are Bloomsburg University students.
In the early morning hours, fire glowed orange in several buildings in the 100 block of West Main Street in Bloomsburg. Flames were through the roof as more than 75 firefighters from all over Columbia County tried to put them out. Apartments in the buildings were destroyed and so were the businesses downstairs.
"This was pretty big. This was a big one. With the buildings connected to each other, it just seemed to keep spreading for a while," said Chris Howell, whose business had smoke and water damage.
The fire chief said the fire started in the second floor kitchen of one building. One person had to be rescued from that apartment and was flown to the hospital and treated for burns and smoke inhalation.
Many Bloomsburg University students lived in the top floors of the buildings.
"Pretty much our door got knocked down by police officers who kind of raided our room saying 'Get out, get out.' We really didn't have a chance to react, we just did what they said," said Bloomsburg senior Mark Webb.
Webb and his roommates left their apartment with the clothes on their backs, then for hours watched as the fire spread to their building, destroying everything.
"Just emotional. All you can think about is how much you've lost and you really can't put a price on it," said Webb.
"I was staying here. I was actually asleep in that room right over there. It's kind of weird to look at it now," said Jeremy Smith, who just graduated from Bloomsburg.
Jeremy Smith was staying with friends and ended up being part of the frightening morning.
"You don't really know how it's going to affect you until it happens to you," said Smith.
"Devastated. The hardest part is, I don't look at what we've lost, I just look at how are you going to move forward? You don't have clothes; you don't have a place to stay. There are just so many questions past the fire. That's all my concern is. I know things happen, it's a tragedy, but what do I do next?" asked Webb.
An investment firm, lawyer's office, and a laundromat were some of the businesses heavily damaged in the fire. The Red Cross and Bloomsburg University have stepped in to help the people affected.
A state police fire marshal was called in to investigate, but there is no word yet on what may have started the fire in Bloomsburg.
The fire started just before 6 a.m. in a building on West Main Street, and then spread to three other buildings.
The fire chief said one person had to be rescued and was flown to the hospital with burns. Officials said 21 other people now have no place to live. Many of them are Bloomsburg University students.
In the early morning hours, fire glowed orange in several buildings in the 100 block of West Main Street in Bloomsburg. Flames were through the roof as more than 75 firefighters from all over Columbia County tried to put them out. Apartments in the buildings were destroyed and so were the businesses downstairs.
"This was pretty big. This was a big one. With the buildings connected to each other, it just seemed to keep spreading for a while," said Chris Howell, whose business had smoke and water damage.
The fire chief said the fire started in the second floor kitchen of one building. One person had to be rescued from that apartment and was flown to the hospital and treated for burns and smoke inhalation.
Many Bloomsburg University students lived in the top floors of the buildings.
"Pretty much our door got knocked down by police officers who kind of raided our room saying 'Get out, get out.' We really didn't have a chance to react, we just did what they said," said Bloomsburg senior Mark Webb.
Webb and his roommates left their apartment with the clothes on their backs, then for hours watched as the fire spread to their building, destroying everything.
"Just emotional. All you can think about is how much you've lost and you really can't put a price on it," said Webb.
"I was staying here. I was actually asleep in that room right over there. It's kind of weird to look at it now," said Jeremy Smith, who just graduated from Bloomsburg.
Jeremy Smith was staying with friends and ended up being part of the frightening morning.
"You don't really know how it's going to affect you until it happens to you," said Smith.
"Devastated. The hardest part is, I don't look at what we've lost, I just look at how are you going to move forward? You don't have clothes; you don't have a place to stay. There are just so many questions past the fire. That's all my concern is. I know things happen, it's a tragedy, but what do I do next?" asked Webb.
An investment firm, lawyer's office, and a laundromat were some of the businesses heavily damaged in the fire. The Red Cross and Bloomsburg University have stepped in to help the people affected.
A state police fire marshal was called in to investigate, but there is no word yet on what may have started the fire in Bloomsburg.
