Thirteen residents in the upper floors of two large downtown Tamaqua apartment buildings fled to the streets in bitter 22-degree air shortly after midnight when smoke filled one apartment and began wafting through floors and walls of others.

The Tamaqua Fire Department and emergency medical units were dispatched to 12 West Broad St. at 12:15 a.m. Friday by the Schuylkill Communications Center for a report of smoke filling a second-floor apartment and moving elsewhere."The man who called said he'd get everyone out of the building," said the dispatcher.The four-story building houses the Pennsylvania Performing Arts Center on the first floor and has multiple apartments upstairs."There are eight apartments and four were occupied," said Jim Connely, chief of the American Hose Company.Firefighters soon realized that the adjacent building, 14 West Broad St., also was affected.That building houses Maria Check Cashing on the first floor and has six apartments in the upper three levels.Residents were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported. Some, including three children, sought refuge in the warmth of waiting ambulances.The cause of the smoke was believed to be related to the heating system or possibly the chimney.Firefighters used axes to break the front door glass of the check cashing business to gain access. Meanwhile, other firefighters were on the roof of both buildings examining chimneys.Among those evacuated at 12 West Broad, Connely said, were two single occupants, a husband and wife, and a woman with three children.At 14 West Broad, those evacuated included five residents, one in each of five apartments. A sixth apartment was unoccupied."I didn't smell the smoke where I was in my apartment, but the super came by and got all of us out of the place. His was the one with the smoke," said one man at the scene who requested that his name not be used.Firefighters were still investigating at 2 a.m.The Tamaqua Salvation Army was preparing to make arrangements to provide temporary housing. However, representative Andy Leibenguth said those provisions weren't necessary as Connely indicated that residents wouldn't be displaced.The two buildings are considered strong contributing resources to the Tamaqua National Historic District and are known as the 1895 Wenzel Building at 12 West Broad and the 1895 Shepp Building, 14 West Broad.Also responding were Tamaqua Rescue Squad, Tamaqua Community Ambulance and Lehighton Ambulance.