Several people, including two children, were injured after a ferocious fire tore through their home early this morning in Slatington.

Borough Deputy Fire Chief Jason Nicholas said firefighters responded at 12:28 a.m. to a single home at 424 Second St. where smoke was reported coming from the roof.

Nicholas said Slatington Borough Police were the first to arrive on scene and confirmed a working fire with heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof extending from the second floor.

He said the first arriving crews confirmed the working fire had extended outside of the residence and was encroaching on 432 and 434 Second St., which sustained some moderate exterior damage to the siding, but no interior damage and the families were able to return to those residences.

Nicholas said the Diamond Fire Company of Walnutport assisted a disabled party in one of the residences back into the residence because he’s confined to a wheelchair.

However, he said four occupants from the 424 Second St. building, including two children and two adults, sustained smoke inhalation and some minor burns.

Nicholas said they were all transported from the scene to the burn center at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, by Northampton Regional EMS, as well as Palmerton and Lehighton Ambulance. Their status was unknown as of 9:30 a.m.

“We contacted the Red Cross and have them working with the family,” Nicholas said. “And the fire department will assist the family as well where we can.”

In addition, Nicholas said two firefighters fell due to slipping on the ice, but were not injured.

He said the home at 424 Second St. is a total loss.

Nicholas said that while the fire is believed to have started on the second floor, the cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation by the department’s fire marshal.

He said it took firefighters between 30 to 45 minutes to knock down the fire, and added they remained on scene for nearly five hours.

Nicholas said also assisting at the scene were the Diamond Fire Company of Walnutport, Emerald Fire Company, Slatedale Fire Company, Friedens Fire Company, Germansville Fire Company, Neffs Fire Company, Lehigh Township Fire Company and Palmerton Fire Department.

“The first two trucks encountered frozen hydrants they hooked into initially, so we started backfill of bringing tankers until we were able to establish a good water supply off the hydrant system from a few blocks away and some of those tankers that were initially called were returned to the station,” he said.

Nicholas said that any fire in the winter time is challenging for a multitude of reasons, such as exposure to the cold for the firemen, the slips and falls on the ice resulting on either the weather or water being discharged out of the fire hose.

“We were faced with partial roof collapse and partial interior collapse of the second floor, which prevented us from reaching certain parts of the residences because the floor was collapsed,” he said. “We did go to a third alarm for manpower because we initially had two residences on fire, so the outpouring of response that we got was great, and the teamwork was unquestionable, and we’re very appreciative of the continued support from the other departments. Everyone did a good job.”