A fire in Coaldale Sunday left seven people and several pets homeless.

The fire at 203 lower Greenwood St. was called into the Schuylkill County Communications Center at 4:51 p.m. The second-alarm fire was quickly upgraded to a working fire.

Coaldale Fire Chief Steve Polischak said when he arrived on scene “smoke was showing on all four sides” and “heavy fire” was visible in the basement, first floor and rear of the building of the 2½ story duplex house. There is water, smoke and heat damage through the rest of the structure.

The residents all escaped along with the pets. Polischak said five of the seven people were home. Four adults and three children reside there. They are staying with relatives. Smoke detectors were going off when firefighters arrived.

He said the home is a total loss and needs to be rebuilt. The owners did not have insurance. A damage estimate was not available as of presstime.

The other side of the home, 205 Lower Greenwood St., sustained some damage. The home was being renovated by someone, Polischak said.

He does not have a cause of the fire which is under investigation by the fire department and police. The fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes and firefighters left about 8 p.m.

At one point evacuation tones sounded but that was due to a miscommunication of what fire hydrant was accessed, Polischak said. Portable tankers were requested but not needed.

No firefighters were injured.

Firefighters from Coaldale, Tamaqua, Summit Hill, Lansford, Tuscarora, West Penn, the Rapid Intervention Team with Pottsville, and EMS from Tamaqua and Ryan Township Rehab responded.

Polischak thanked everyone who responded to the scene.