Resident Rescued from Harris Township Apartment Fire

Emergency responders rescued one person from an apartment fire on Saturday afternoon in Harris Township.

Boalsburg Fire Company was dispatched at about 2:50 p.m. for a second-floor apartment fire on the 500 block of Jacks Mill Drive. Neighbors confirmed that a resident was trapped on the second floor, according to a Boalsburg Fire Company Facebook post.

State College police officers on the scene saw a hand reach out a window and Boalsburg firefighters found the resident in the rear bedroom of the apartment, according to Alpha Fire Company. Boalsburg and Alpha firefighters and State College police officers used ladders and extricated the resident through a window.

The resident was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center by Centre LifeLink EMS and later flown by helicopter to Geisinger Medical Center, according to Alpha Fire Company. One firefighter sustained a hand laceration and went to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment.

Boalsburg firefighters knocked down the fire with an attack line through a second floor window. After the rescue was completed Boalsburg and Alpha firefighters performed ventilation and overhaul, while Centre Hall Fire Company assisted with salvage and on-scene standby. Boalsburg Fire Police closed the area while crews operated.

The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.

“Without an aggressive fire attack and victim search, the outcome of this incident could have been much different,” Alpha Fire Company wrote in a Facebook post.