Reading PA Fire Department

Units were dispatched around 19:15 to box 522 for a reported fire at 1925 Centre avenue, the Stadium Diner. Engine 11 reported during their response that they had heavy smoke showing from several blocks away. Arriving on location they reported a working fire. Engine 11 and 9 crews advanced a single 1 3/4 inch handline through a rear door and down into the basement where they were met with high heat and zero visibility.

An additional crew entered the main restaurant area to attempt to cut an opening in the floor while another used a ground ladder to get up to the roof and pop the vents. The interior basement crew slowly made their way to the fire and found some relief as the fire began to burn through the ceiling. The flames were blackened down quickly but an extensive overhaul of a storage area would be needed before the incident could be put under control.

A second alarm was struck at 19:30 for manpower to clear the building of smoke and continue to search for hidden fire on the first floor. Crews on the first floor used a variety of power saws to make slight openings in the floor of the crowded kitchen area, which was built up from several wood layers and a finish layer of masonite, to assist in ventilating the basement. Although heavily damaged by heat and smoke damage, the first floor sustained only minor damage from the fire itself.

No injuries were reported, employees of the diner were cleaning up for the day when one of them smelled smoke. He went down into the basement to check for the source and encountered the fire. The Fire Marshal responded and is investigating.

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