Current Conditions
58°F - SUNNY
More than 50 firefighters from a dozen stations battled extreme heat and stopped the fire from spreading across the densely populated block.
Two attached homes, a business and an apartment in the first block of West Main Street were damaged, fire officials said.
Mount Joy Fire Chief Buddy Hess estimated damages from the fire to be just over $200,000.
A house at 40 and 42 W. Main St. was "gutted," Hess said. B.B. Plumbing, at 38 W. Main St., and an apartment above the business also were damaged, officials said.
The house was ruined, Hess said, but the other damaged buildings can be repaired.
The fire started near a couch in the living room of 40 W. Main St., investigators said.
A couple and their teenage son lived there, according to officials, and one of the occupants was awake when the fire started.
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause.All 10 occupants of the buildings were outside when firefighters responded to a 911 dispatch about 3:30 a.m.
Flames and smoke shot from a front window and the left side of 40 W. Main St. was alight when crews arrived. One firefighter described it as "off and running."
Firefighters took hand lines into the front door and knocked down the bulk of the flames within 15 minutes. However, a lot of damage was done in those few minutes, officials said.
Investigators said the long wooden beams in the house caught fire quickly.
Flames spread up through the walls of 40 W. Main St. and gutted the second floor and attic, investigators said.
Only smoke damages was reported in 42 W. Main St., but "the building most likely will be a total loss," Hess said.
Susquehanna Valley Red Cross is providing lodging, food and clothing for the displaced families.
Investigators said the blaze could have been much worse. Flames can spread quickly in older urban blocks, officials said. Last year, a three-alarm blaze burned nine buildings on the opposite side of Main Street. It killed one resident and caused more than $1 million in damage.
(329) (4)Fire Department of Mount Joy was assisted by firefighters from Rheems, Elizabethtown, Marietta, Rohrerstown, Maytown, Middletown, Lancaster Township, Columbia, East Petersburg, Manheim and Hempfield.
Two firefighters sustained minor injuries, but weren't transported to a hospital.
"The biggest issue was the temperature," Hess said. "The heat took its toll on the firefighters."
The last crew left the scene about 9 a.m. Sunday.
E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com
