Crews battled a swift-moving, two-alarm blaze early Monday for several hours on the sprawling property of a pair of North Whitehall trucking buildings, state police said.
Nathan Branosky, public information officer for the Troop M barracks, told lehighvalleylive.com flames ignited shortly after 1 a.m. at Doctor Diesel and OCS Transport, 4822 Kernsville Road. The property sits just off of Route 309 in the township’s Orefield section.
Social media postings stated upward of 70 firefighters from multiple departments spanning Northampton, Lehigh, Berks and Carbon counties were dispatched to battle the flames. South Whitehall Township-based Greenawalds Fire Co. posted on its Facebook page at least one of the buildings was well-involved when crews arrived on scene.
It took multiple hours to get the flames under control with North Whitehall Township Fire Marshal Donald Jacobs telling WFMZ-69 News it was just too dangerous to battle the blaze from inside. Crews instead had to work the exterior portions, Jacobs stated.
Upper Macungie Township Station No. 56 posted on its Facebook page another challenge. Due to a lack of water hydrants, multiple tankers had to be called in to shuttle water, the station said.
Jacobs noted in the WFMZ report a significant amount of diesel fuel, tires and other equipment was on the property, making the conditions difficult to work through.
There were no injuries in the blaze, Branosky said.
As of 10:20 a.m., Kernsville Road — between Route 309 and Shankweiler Road — continues to be shut down as investigators remain at the scene. Crews continue to look out for hot spots that could reignite the fire, Branosky said.
The cause of Monday’s fire is unclear. Jacobs couldn’t immediately be reached for more information Monday morning.
The blaze remains under investigation by North Whitehall fire officials.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at [email protected].
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