Officials classify deadly fire in Pottstown as accident, caused by defective electrical device | Southeast Pennsylvania

POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Officials say a faulty electrical appliance caused a major fire in a Montgomery County high-rise Thursday. The fatal blaze has been ruled an accident.

“The best way to describe it is chaos,” Pottstown Fire Chief Frank Hand told 69 News on Thursday.

A Pottstown man has died after a fire broke out in his home.

Bradley Ludwig, 53, was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest on Thursday morning. He died of his injuries later that evening. The Lehigh County Coroner told 69 News that Ludwig suffered burns and smoke inhalation.

According to Chief Hand, the fire was accidental and was caused by an “electrical equipment failure” in the victim’s apartment.

Hand said firefighters responded within minutes after alarms went off at the Robert P. Smith Towers on High Street just after 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

“I thought I was going to die,” said local resident Jeff Piley.

The fire started on the fifth floor, but the rapidly spreading smoke made it an even bigger problem. Pottstown firefighters took all necessary measures to rescue the residents.

“The firefighters had to bring people down ladders and evacuate the floors,” Hand said. “They had to break down doors.”

The fire chief said four other people were also hospitalized. One was kept overnight for observation, but he said all have since been released.

The building is a home for the elderly and disabled. Some said they were panicking because of an attack and tried to get out.

“There are a lot of people living here who have wheelchairs, you know, those little carts and things like that,” resident Orlando Rodriguez told 69 News.

But the boss says the building is very safe and no modernization is necessary.

“The only good thing about these buildings is that they just upgraded the alarm systems and everything is working as it did before,” Hand said Thursday. “Unfortunately, we had a fire in a room that was larger than normal.”

Hand says all but seven residents have now been allowed back into their homes following an inspection and thorough cleaning by an environmental company.

These seven residents all live on the fifth floor, where the fire broke out.