Two kids have been arrested for setting a devastating blaze that ripped through several buildings in Pennsylvania and left dozens homeless.
The unidentified minors set off the inferno in Allentown Wednesday night at around 8:45 p.m. at an abandoned warehouse on Front Street, before it quickly raged out of control, local WPVI reported.
The six-alarm fire spread across the street, tearing through eight homes — six of which were destroyed — leaving seven families displaced, according to the outlet.
The Allentown inferno tore through eight homes on Wednesday. ABC6
The fire allegedly set by two minors left several families homeless. ABC6Local resident Robert Velez was shocked to hear the suspects were just little kids.
“This is my home,” he told WPVI, adding that his wife was visiting relatives when the fire tore through the buildings. “She’s really devastated. “It’s just crazy that any kids did that.”
Neighbors also couldn’t believe the level of devastation.
“Never seen anything like this,” local Ben Pope told WPVI, adding, “It’s sad they just ruined the rest of their lives — all for nothing. Affected all of these people.”
Fire officials said the radiant heat — not direct flames — caused the fire to spread from the warehouse.
“It wasn’t so much the flames that jumped over as much as it was radiant heat; it was that hot,” Allentown Fire Department Chief Efrain Agosto Jr., said.
“The heat itself just basically took over.”
One firefighter suffered minor injuries. No other injuries were reported.
Each suspect is facing charges of arson, recklessly endangering another person, conspiracy and causing a catastrophe, the Lehigh County District Attorney announced Friday.
Due to their ages, both suspects will be processed through the juvenile system and are currently being held at a juvenile detention center.
The factory was once the American Atelier furniture factory but was set to become a focal point for a hoped-for economic revitalization of the neighborhood.
The building was slated to be turned into a 16-story mixed-use building with 360 apartments and 21,0000 square feet of office and retail space, according to The Morning Call.






