Uniontown apartment fire forces evacuation
No one was hurt in a fire that started on the seventh floor of a downtown Uniontown apartment building early Wednesday evening, city police and fire officials said.
The fire appeared to start in the stove in apartment 701 in the Gallatin Apartments, 41 E. Main St., when the tenant was not home at approximately 4:45 p.m., police Sgt. Wayne Brown said.
Police officers evacuated the floor after they encountered heavy smoke upon arrival, Brown said.
After seeing smoke coming from under the apartment door, police forced the door open, Capt. David Rutter said.
Police didn’t see anyone in the apartment, but firefighters searched the apartment when they arrived and confirmed that the unit was vacant, Brown said.
Fire department Capt. Mark Lovey said firefighters evacuated the entire eight-story building and were trying to determine the cause of the fire.
Brown said firefighters quickly extinguished the fire.
“They knocked it down pretty quickly” and most of the damage appeared to be limited to the apartment, he said. Police identified the tenant as 57-year-old June Laraway.