Woman dies after house fire in Bethlehem | Regional news from Lehigh Valley

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – A woman has died after a house fire on Broadway in Bethlehem.

It erupted just after 1 a.m. Wednesday on the third floor of a home on the corner of the 900 block of Broadway.

Bethlehem Fire Chief Michael Reich said when crews first arrived at the scene, they saw someone who appeared to be trying to climb out of the third-story window.

To get the person out, the firefighters had to use a ladder to get up to the window. Unfortunately, it was too late when they were able to pull the person through the window and get him down.

“They discovered a fire on the third floor and rescued a victim from the third floor. The victim was determined to be deceased,” said Reich, who had been promoted to fire chief just hours earlier at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

A man at the scene tells 69 News that the victim was his mother. He says he has no idea at this point how the fire started.

The fire has been extinguished and investigations into its origins are ongoing.

Reich said no other injuries were reported and the fire was contained to a single home.

Traffic on Broadway returned to normal early Wednesday morning.