TAYLOR — Ten people, including five children, were displaced by fire on Tuesday evening at a Lackawanna County public housing development in Taylor, but there were no injuries.
Crews were called to 83 Kennedy Blvd. just after 6 p.m., to find one area of the building in flames, according to Taylor Fire Chief Wesley Jones.
The fire also caused smoke and water damage to 81 Kennedy Blvd., an adjacent unit.
“We arrived on scene and found the 83 side heavily involved through the windows on the first and second floor,” he said.
Jones said there was a water source directly in front of the building, which allowed firefighters to make quick work of putting out the fire.
“We knocked it down within 20-30 minutes,” he said. “We had a lot of hot spots afterward, so we were on scene for about 2½ hours.”
Jones said a mother and five younger children were displaced from the 83 Kennedy Blvd. unit and four adults displaced from the 81 Kennedy Blvd. unit.
Although the 81 Kennedy Blvd. side of the structure was uninhabitable following the fire, Jones said it was “salvageable.”
Crews searched for a cat that lived at 81 Kennedy Blvd. but were unsuccessful. The cat, however, showed up later and Jones believed the pet had fled early on.
Jones said the Red Cross was on scene to assist the fire victims.
A state police fire marshal ruled the fire “undetermined,” Jones said.
Crews from Old Forge, Greenwood Hose Company, Chinchilla Hose Company and Duryea were also called to the scene, Jones said.