Updated at 1:30 p.m. on April 12.
Residents of a downtown State College apartment building were evacuated for about seven hours following a fire early Monday morning.
Alpha Fire Company was dispatched at about 12:15 a.m. for a report of a fire inside an apartment at the Americana House, 119 Locust Lane. According to Centre County dispatch, the fire reportedly started on a couch and spread inside the apartment.
The fire was confined to one apartment and was extinguished in about 25 minutes, Centre Region Fire Director Steve Bair said. No one was injured and there was very little water damage inside the building.
About 49 residents of the building were displaced until 7:30 a.m. when the Centre Region fire marshal cleared the scene. Penn State Residence Life provided assistance for student residents who needed somewhere to stay.
Bair said the cause of the fire is not yet known and a report is expected in the next several days.
After the fire was extinguished State College police asked the crowd assembled outside to move back, and just after 1 a.m. told them to move to McAllister Street.
“There was some concern about material found in the apartment which the fire was in,” State College police Lt. Greg Brauser said in an email. “After further investigation, nothing criminal or dangerous was discovered and residents were permitted to return.”
Boalsburg Fire Company also was dispatched but canceled en route to the scene as Alpha determined further resources were not needed to control the fire. Centre LifeLink EMS and Alpha fire police also responded.
Additional reporting by Onward State’s Ryan Parsons and Matt DiSanto.
