Reading Goes Up in Flames

On 21 November, around 6:00 p.m., several fire departments were dispatched to the Reading Fire Tower to fight a fire that started in the mountain behind Reading Area High School.

“Yeah the fire was pretty wild.  It was just a small fire when they ended basketball practice early, but then, as the day went on, the fire kept getting bigger to the point where it was scary,” Reading High senior Justin Hummel said.

The fire gradually grew larger and larger and spread out near the fire tower.  Eventually, it formed into a V shape. The smoke could be seen miles away from the city, according to WFMZ.

The fire was so big that many of the veteran firefighters that were on scene had not seen a bigger fire in their lives, according to pennlive.com.

“It was really cool to see the fire. I have never seen one near that size before. I am just glad that nobody was hurt in the fire or in the process of putting the fire out,” senior Tristan Spannuth, who drove out to see the fire, said.

The fire was hard to put out because of the type of terrain in which it was flourishing. It was hard for the firefighters to get into a good position to put the fire out.

The cause of the start of the fire has been speculated by many people. Some say that it was arson and was set aflame by criminals. Others say that it was caused by homeless people that were starting a fire for warmth during the windy day; then, the wind took the fire, and it escalated from there. Others blame the conflagration on how dry it was during those couple of days.