What began as an early-morning fire call in Berks County, PA ended in tragedy after firefighters discovered a body inside a burned storage unit on Sunday.
Crews from Reading Firefighters Local 1803 were dispatched around 3:30 a.m. to the area of Angelica Street and Lancaster Avenue, where a row of storage units had erupted in flames. According to officials, firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke conditions spreading through multiple units.
The blaze proved unusually difficult to contain. Some units were packed with hazardous materials, including fireworks and propane tanks, which intensified the heat and complicated suppression efforts. Despite the danger, crews managed to get the fire under control after an extended battle.
As firefighters began their final sweep—checking for hot spots and areas that could reignite—they made a grim discovery: a deceased person inside one of the burned units.
Authorities have not released the victim’s identity or gender, and the Berks County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The Reading Fire Marshal’s Office, led by Jeremy Searfoss, has launched a joint investigation with local police to determine both how the fire started and whether the person had been living inside the unit…