POTTSTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A fire early Tuesday morning destroyed a pair of vacant homes in Pottstown — which were already damaged from last year’s deadly house explosion on the same street.
The townhouses on Hale Street and Butler Avenue were in the process of being renovated, but the early-morning flames turned the properties into a big pile of burnt rubble.
An explosion in May 2022 on the other side of Butler Avenue had left them uninhabitable. That blast killed a woman and her four grandchildren.
No one was hurt in Tuesday’s fire, and officials are trying to reassure residents that the incidents are unrelated to each other. Pottstown Fire Chief Frank Hand emphasized it is just a coincidence.
“This has nothing to do with the explosion. This is just a circumstance of a neighborhood that had another fire in it,” he said. “There was nothing to lead us to believe that — anything with the explosion or utilities or gas — there’s none of that in our mindset right now.”
Some neighbors are frustrated because Pottstown officials have yet to release the cause of last year’s explosion. They say they’re being very careful and thorough with the investigation, and information will be released at some point.
There are still scars from the 2022 explosion.
“Just pray for our community. Everyone’s still grieving a lot,” said Molly Heverly, who lives right behind the houses that burned down. Her home was damaged in last year’s blast and renovations were almost done.
Things were looking good until Tuesday’s fire. The water used on the flames flowed downhill and flooded her basement.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Related
