Apartment Building Fire on Byers Avenue

Just after 1:30 p.m., multiple calls were placed to the 911 center for a reported apartment building fire at 911 Byers Avenue. Within one minute of these calls, the Chambersburg Fire Department and surrounding departments were called for the first alarm building fire assignment. While en route, dispatch updated the call to a possible entrapment. Engine 1-4 and Chief 1 (Command) arrived to find a fire to the rear of the building that had extended into the top floors, with an uncertainty if anyone was trapped. Command immediately requested a second alarm. Engine 1-1 (Cpt. Ebersole) was put in charge of fire attack/search on the first floor, DC 1 was placed in the second division, and DC 47 was placed on the third floor. Crews were met with heavy fire conditions on the interior, and after a few minutes, conditions quickly deteriorated, so crews were evacuated. Once the bulk of the fire was extinguished and within a few minutes of the evacuation, crews were sent back in to complete a search. All searches came up negative, and crews continued to battle the blaze for well over an hour in single-digit temperatures. Crews remained on scene for several hours with an extensive overhaul and picking up frozen hose. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.