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Fire at The Park damages apartment building

Park Fire

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STATE COLLEGE — Jared Stufft was delivering food for OrderUp at the Park at State College at 348 Blue Course Drive on April 20 close to 7:30 p.m., when he spotted the fire.

“I remember seeing a tiny bit of smoke and a fire in the bush probably no larger than a basketball,” Stufft said. “I tried calling 911 at this point … This was probably less than 2 minutes after I pulled in, and the fire was now maybe 7 or 8 feet tall and climbing up the side of the building.

“I remember at one point smoke start billowing out of the vent on the top of the building and then flames started pouring out of it, which was intense to watch.”

No one was harmed in the three-alarm fire at The Park’s Building 13, but 48 students were displaced and the building was left uninhabitable.

The fire was under control by about 8:15 p.m., according to Alpha Fire Company Assistant Chief Shaw Kauffman. He said the fire is believed to have started on the exterior of the building and traveled to the top floor of the three-story building.

“The mulch area had some evergreen bushes and when the mulch caught fire, the evergreens caught fire so it was a very rapid burning, considering the dry conditions,” Kauffman said. “The exact cause is unknown, but is likely due to discarded smoking material.”

Within 25 minutes of extinguishing the fire from the inside, a portion of the roof collapsed, so crews backed out and went defensive to attack the rest of the fire from the outside, according to the Alpha Fire Company Facebook. No one was injured, Kauffman said, but the conditions became too dangerous to fight the fire from the inside.

Kauffman said using water to put fire out from the outside caused a significant amount of damage even to the lower floors.

The more significant damage was on the upper floors, specifically to apartment 309. Workers at the building complex were able to retrieve a majority of students’ belongings.

Penn State students who tried to put the fire out before firefighters arrived may have also helped stall the fire. Stufft said he saw a few people grab fire extinguishers to try to put the fire out.

“They were able to put the ground fire out, or at least almost out, but the fire had spread the whole way up to the roof at that point, so it was too high for the extinguishers to reach” he said.

The Park is in the process of starting repairs on the building; meanwhile the damage has forced all the tenants to relocate, Kauffman said.

Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said the affected students had a place to stay the evening of the fire and for the rest of the week, and the university would work to provide accommodations for the remainder of the semester. Penn State Student Services and the Red Cross were contacted to assist Property Management with other services needed.

‘Student Affairs is currently working to make arrangements for any of these students who want a space on campus for the remainder of the semester,’ Powers told statecollege.com. ‘They need to call our Residence Life Office to exercise this housing option and hopefully we will be able to accommodate.’

Management of The Park has also offered to pay for the affected residents to stay at a nearby hotel.

The Barnes and Noble Student Emergency Fund is accepting donations to assist students affected by the fire. Management at the Park is working with local stores to put together care packages and donations are being accepted at the Park management office.