The cause of the three-alarm fire in Lansford Wednesday has been ruled undetermined.

Lansford Fire Chief Joe Greco said he and Fire Marshal Don Marotta, of the Hazleton barracks, agreed the cause is undetermined.

Greco said the origin of the fire appears to be in the basement of 156, which is consistent with the damage seen. He said the floor joists were burned above the first floor just above the basement.

He estimated the fire caused $700,000 in damages to 154, 156, 156½ and 158 W. Ridge St. The home at 154 was vacant, one person lived at 156, three at 156½ and one at 158. The owner of 156 and 156½ has insurance, although the tenants do not. Greco was unable to talk to the owner of 158, which he said a tenant was renting. The Red Cross was called to assist. Names were not available.

He thanked mutual aid companies and all who responded.

“It was a hard fire to fight,” Greco said.

Carbon County Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein, who is a firefighter in Lehighton, also spoke about the blaze in Lansford during Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting.

He said there were five ladder trucks on scene, which is unheard of in normal circumstances; as well as thousands of feet of ground hose used to battle the blaze.

Nothstein commented on how smoky the fire was, creating challenges for the firefighters.

“It was very difficult,” he said. “At times we couldn’t even see the people that were on the ladder.”

He commended all the departments for working together well during the fire.

Firefighters from several Carbon and Schuylkill counties responded to the working fire on West Ridge Street at 8 p.m. All occupants of the buildings escaped.

Firefighters were on scene until 3 a.m. Thursday continuing to drown out the fire, which continued to burn due to the void spaces firefighters had difficulty accessing and the collapse of the structures.

Reporter Amy Miller contributed to this story.