One person is dead following an early-morning fire Tuesday in Palmerton.

Borough fire Chief Jason Behler said firefighters responded at 5:34 a.m. to a twin duplex in the 100 block of Columbia Avenue.

Behler said the fire broke out at 131 Columbia Ave. He said the adjoining home on the other side is 133.

“When I first got there, there was a large amount of fire from the second floor on the front and left side, mostly on the second floor, but some on the first floor,” Behler said. “We used the deck gun on our engine to do a quick knock down on the fire and also to protect the exposure of the other house that was to the left of that property; there was large amounts of fire.”

Behler said they sent a crew in to the 133 side.

“At the time we didn’t know who was home; they did a search that started on the second floor and then also onto the first floor to verify (there were) no occupants on that side,” he said. “The fire on the 131 side (was) too engulfed to save anybody at that point; (as) the fire prevented an interior search at that time.”

Behler said one person, who appeared to be an adult, was found on the second floor of 131 Columbia.

Carbon County Coroner Bob Miller said an autopsy is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Behler said the occupants at 133 Columbia were on vacation. The Palmerton Police Department contacted them and notified them of the situation.

“The majority of the damage was done to 131,” he said. “There was some fire damage in the attic area on 133, but for the most part, mostly heat and water damage.

Behler said that state police fire marshals arrived on scene to conduct an investigation.

“Based on the extensive damage, we believe the cause will be hard to determine,” he said. “At this point, it (the cause of the fire) is undetermined.”

Behler said it took about 3 1/2 hours to knock down the fire, but were on scene until about noon “to assist with the fire investigation and to extinguish any remaining hot spots.”

The original call requested assistance from the Aquashicola Fire Department, Bowmanstown Fire Department, and Diamond Fire Company in Walnutport and the fire department’s RIT team.

“They did a good job trying to contain the fire,” he said. “Obviously the heat played a role; it wasn’t so much the circumstances of the fire.”

Behler said they did strike a second alarm in which the Lehighton Fire Department, Slatington Fire Department, and Mahoning Valley Ambulance responded “for additional manpower to allow fresh people to go in and give firefighters a chance to rehab.”

Penn Forest Fire Company and Nesquehoning Fire Company also responded and were on standby at the Palmerton Fire Department.

“This fire had appeared to burn very long until a neighbor happened to see it burning,” he said. “It just goes to show that early notification (smoke detectors) really help to alert the fire companies and not get to the magnitude that we seen today, so I always encourage any residents that if they don’t have working smoke detectors, to check them and contact fire companies and the Red Cross to get something in there to get earlier notification.

Jennifer Rowden lives at 127 Columbia Ave., which is directly next to the fire.

As a result, there were three windows on that side of her house that were all broken, while their vinyl shutters were all melted on the house.

“It’s relatively minor; all of our landscaping was burnt,” Rowden said. “We had pretty substantial damage to our backyard so the firefighters could bring their trucks.

“It’s the aftermath of what we’re dealing with.”

Rowden, who said she knew the victim who lived alone in the home at 131, described the scene.

“My son came running down the hall and it was 5:30 (a.m.) and he said (the house) was on fire and I immediately dialed 911 to report the neighbor’s house was on fire,” Rowden said. “As I walked out front to see it, I was overwhelmed.

“I knew where (the victim’s bedroom was) and that was entirely engulfed; flames had broken through the windows, were shooting through the sides of the house, and John, my fiance, immediately ran over to 133 and started banging on the doors. We were yelling get out, no one was answering and I was frantic, they were not home, (so) we ran back in our house and we got our kids and got their shoes on and got out of the house.

“The heat was so intense, and it was crazy. We got our kids out, we came back in and got the cats out, we moved the cars for safety reasons and so the fire trucks could get close to the house.”

Rowden said firefighters responded within a “matter of minutes and they were here and already working on the fire.”

“I was so impressed, in awe of all of the volunteer first responders that were here,” she said. “To see all of the people that volunteer their time; it was very emotional to see all of that in action.”