A Carbon County Commissioner, who is also a volunteer firefighter, is voicing his appreciation for everyone who responded to an apartment complex fire in Lehighton earlier this week.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein spoke about the fire at 256 N. Second St. that left nine homeless after it broke out late Sunday night and rekindled into a blaze Monday morning.“I’m not sure how many agencies responded to the incident, but I personally want to thank the mutual aid departments,” Nothstein said.Nothstein is a volunteer firefighter in Lehighton.“We probably had half of the county there because the water supply was not sufficient for the volume of fire,” he said, adding that several units from Lehigh County also responded and Lehigh Township moved up to cover the borough while the volunteers battled the blaze for hours.“I want to especially thank the businesses and churches,” Nothstein said. “At least three churches opened up their doors to the firemen to come in, warm up, use the restroom facilities. They made coffee for us.”Other businesses such as Goodwill from Lehigh County, McDonald’s, Burger King and area shops donated food and hot chocolate to help keep the volunteers fed and warm during the frigid battle.Lehighton Borough also provided both salt trucks and manpower to try to keep the scene free of ice to try to prevent any injuries from slipping, a very difficult feat since temperatures hovered in the single digits and teens, Nothstein said.He pointed out just how dangerous the scene was, noting that in the apparatus he was operating, the mist from the water spray was freezing immediately on contact on both the inside and outside of the vehicle.“I want to thank everyone for the tremendous support they gave to the first responders for coming out that day,” he said.The fire at the apartment originally broke out around 11 p.m. Sunday and rekindled at 8 a.m. Monday.Two firefighters sustained weather-related injuries, but for the most part, everyone escaped without injury.North Second and Third streets as well as Coal Street were shut down as crews from around the county and neighboring counties responded.The Red Cross opened a shelter to provide food and a place to sleep after power in the area was cut, but it was shut down Monday night after nobody used it.The building was demolished Monday afternoon and Tuesday after the state fire marshal was called in to investigate.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.