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Fire damages apartment in Wilkes-Barre

Flames ripped through an apartment building in Wilkes-Barre around 6:30 p.m. Sunday night.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Firefighters were called to the building along the 300 block of North Washington Street around 6:30 p.m. in the city.

Officials tell Newswatch 16 that four apartments were damaged, and eight people, including three children, lived there. Everyone made it out safely, including a dog. 

Crews worked for hours to fight the fire in between the walls of the building.

"Structurally, there's a tremendous amount of fire damage inside. The firefighters are working really, really hard between the third floor and the attic to pull the ceilings down to get to the fire. It's just extremely labor-intensive. They're working hard. They've been working hard for over an hour and a half in this fire so far," said Wilkes-Barre Fire Department Chief Jay Delaney.

"I came out with about 14 laps to go in the Nascar race, saw a little bit of smoke coming from the side alley here. Went in to get my dad to tell him to call the fire department there's a fire. And two minutes later, the flames were blowing 30-40 feet out the front," said John Benson, a neighbor.

"We left for about two minutes my daughter and my two sons were in the house, and my daughter called me panicking, saying that she'd heard a fire detector going off and she didn't know where it was coming from. I told her to go outside with her two brothers. If she could to see where the fire alarm was coming from or find an adult, and one of my neighbors went inside and said that my bedroom was on fire," said Jasmine Fryar, fire victim.

The fire is out now, and the Red Cross is helping the victims.

The cause is under investigation by fire officials in Wilkes-Barre. 

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