Fire crews work to extinguish the blaze at 426 Rutter Ave., Kingston, on Friday afternoon.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
The cause of the blaze is under state police investigation
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KINGSTON — Nine people were displaced as a result of a fire that broke out at 426 Rutter Ave. on Friday afternoon, according to Cristina Maisel, American Red Cross regional communications manager.
The house was occupied when the fire started, but there were no injuries to any residents or first responders, according to Kingston-Forty Forty Fire Department Deputy Chief Floyd Young. The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police.
The Northeast Pennsylvania chapter of the Red Cross assisted those who were displaced, Maisel said.
At around 2:15 p.m. on Friday, an hour and a half after the initial first responders arrived, the fire was still minimally active on the upper floor of the building and the smoke billowing from the roof was significant.
The residence next door at 420 Rutter Ave. was the only other home directly impacted by the fire. The damage to the roof of that house was described by Young as “minimal.”
The stretch of Rutter Avenue from Pierce Street to Butler Street was closed to vehicle traffic, though a number of residents from the surrounding neighborhood did walk to the scene of the fire. The first responders not immediately tending to the fire directed traffic leading to Rutter Avenue from Pierce and Butler streets.
First responders from Kingston, Forty Fort, Edwardsville, Larksville, Luzerne, Nanticoke, Plains Twp., Shavertown, Swoyersville and Wilkes-Barre were at the scene after 2 p.m.