Apartment Building, Residential

Lansdale, PA – No injuries as sprinkler system contains third-floor apartment fire

A kitchen fire inside 536 Station Square Blvd. in the Station Square Apartment Homes in Upper Gwynedd was knocked down in five minutes, but it has left two apartments uninhabitable.

Upper Gwynedd Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Sharkey said the kitchen fire started in a third-floor apartment in the 500 building.

“The fire marshal is still investigating the cause,” Sharkey said.

He said the fire was isolated to the corner kitchen island.

“The sprinkler system did a good job in containing the fire,” he said.

Three windows were broken out to ventilate the fire and smoke.

“Smoke had banked down to about a foot off the ground,” he said.

The fire was knocked down within five minutes, he said.

“The neighbor called it in,” he said.

The entire 500 building — 18 apartments in all — were evacuated.

Both the third-floor apartment and the second-floor apartment are inhabitable; the former due to water and smoke damage and the latter, 526 Station Square Blvd., due to water damage.

No one was home at the time of the fire. The elderly female renter was called to the scene, consoled by Station Square management and Upper Gwynedd Township Police Officer Ted Caiola.

There were no injuries.

Assisting Upper Gwynedd Fire Department at the scene were Fairmount Fire Co., North Penn Vol. Fire Co., Hatfield Vol. Fire Co. and Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale.