A two-alarm fire in a Lansford row home that displaced four adults and at least one small child Tuesday afternoon was ruled accidental, the borough’s fire chief said.

“The guy had a space heater plugged in, and it definitely started in that area,” Fire Chief Joseph Greco, of American Fire Co. No. 1 of Lansford, said.

Flames were shooting from third-floor windows of 505 E. Ridge St., the home on the far east side of the three-unit row home, when firefighters arrived, he said.

Firefighters immediately attacked the flames from the outside and then went in with hand lines to extinguish the fire, Greco said.

“We were able to open up the roof above to stop the fire from traveling through the cock loft to the other residences that were attached to it,” he said.

The middle home at 503 E. Ridge St. sustained damage to the third-floor ceiling and windows, the latter of which failed due to the proximity of the blaze next door, Greco said.

The American Red Cross is assisting the two people who lived in 505 E. Ridge St., while the other displaced family in 503 E. Ridge St. had a place to stay and didn’t require assistance, he said.

The home on the west side of the row, 501 E. Ridge St., was occupied by a woman and her grandson, who was visiting, Greco said. Fire did not reach the unit, but the home may have an odor of smoke.

No residents or firefighters were injured in the fire, Greco said. Two of the units were rentals, and the owners notified and are assisting their residents, he said.

Firefighters put out a second alarm for manpower for the midday fire, when many volunteers are working, Greco said. Lansford, Coaldale and Summit Hill were initially dispatched, but then Nesquehoning, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton and Tuscarora were called as well as Tamaqua for their Rapid Intervention Team.

The Lansford Borough Road Department was on site. Due to the extreme cold weather, they were positioned to treat the road with anti skid material as ice formed from the water on the road.

Greco pointed out that half of the borough’s 80 fire hydrants were buried after more than a foot of snow fell on Sunday. Firefighters went out to clear snow from those hydrants on Monday, he said.

“I’m glad we actually went out and did it, because it definitely proved worth our time and energy to do that,” Greco said.

The chief said that he usually posts on social media, asking residents to please adopt a fire hydrant near their home and clear the snow away. Doing so allows firefighters, especially out-of-town responders, to quickly find them, he said.

John Zym contributed to this report.