Latest news with #JIMLOCKWOOD
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scranton buying land next to Novembrino splash pad/playground for parking
SCRANTON – The city plans to buy part of a vacant lot next to the Novembrino splash pad and playground for off-street parking for visitors to the recreation site in West Side. The land being purchased from owner Mary Regina LLC includes 9,628 square feet, or about one-quarter of the lot in the 200 block of South 10th Avenue between Novembrino Park and the offices of endodontist Dr. Frank A. DiNoia, DDS, the city said in a statement Friday. The city of Scranton plans to buy for $34,000 part of a vacant lot next to Novembrino Park in West Scranton, shown here on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, to use for off-street parking for visitors to the recreation site that includes a playground and a splash pad. The land being purchased from owner Mary Regina LLC includes 9,628 square feet, or about one-quarter of the lot in the 200 block of South 10th Avenue between Novembrino Park and the offices of endodontist Dr. Frank A. DiNoia, DDS. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Last Tuesday, Scranton City Council introduced a resolution from the administration of Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti authorizing the city to buy for $34,000 the 9,628 square feet of the part of the vacant lot closest to Washburn Street. 'Because of our many improvements at Novembrino Park, it is one of the most popular parks in the city,' Cognetti said in the statement. 'The addition of dedicated off-street parking at Novembrino can help us keep children and families safe as they enjoy this West Scranton attraction.' Council voted 5-0 — with council President Gerald Smurl, Jessica Rothchild, Mark McAndrew, Tom Schuster and Bill King all in favor — to introduce the resolution, the city said. Council's agenda for its meeting this coming Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall has the resolution listed for a vote on adoption. Novembrino Park is home to the city's first splash pad that opened in July 2021 and a playground that opened in November 2023. The city funded the playground improvements with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars and support from the Monsignor Anthony C. Marra Memorial Fund of Friends of the Poor. New playground equipment was installed at Novembrino Park in West Scranton in 2023, and show here in this photo on July 20, 2023. (TIME-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO) The city's 2021 Parks Needs Assessment and Master Plan called for off-street parking at Novembrino and the city planned for the expense in the 2025 capital budget. Meanwhile, as of last summer, the spongy surface of the splash pad at Novembrino Park had already deteriorated badly and officials had said it would be removed and replaced with a concrete surface. Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti at the city's first splash pad, at Novembrino Park in West Side, on July 22, 2021, and which opened that day. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) 'The surface of the splash pad will be addressed this spring and we anticipate opening (the splash pad) for Memorial Day weekend,' city Business Administrator Eileen Cipriani said Monday via email. * The city of Scranton plans to buy for $34,000 part of a vacant lot next to Novembrino Park in West Scranton, shown here on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, to use for off-street parking for visitors to the recreation site that includes a playground and a splash pad. The land being purchased from owner Mary Regina LLC includes 9,628 square feet, or about one-quarter of the lot in the 200 block of South 10th Avenue between Novembrino Park and the offices of endodontist Dr. Frank A. DiNoia, DDS. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * New playground equipment was installed at Novembrino Park in West Scranton in 2023, and show here in this photo on July 20, 2023. (TIME-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO) * The city of Scranton plans to buy for $34,000 part of a vacant lot next to Novembrino Park in West Scranton, shown here on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, to use for off-street parking for visitors to the recreation site that includes a playground and a splash pad. The land being purchased from owner Mary Regina LLC includes 9,628 square feet, or about one-quarter of the lot in the 200 block of South 10th Avenue between Novembrino Park and the offices of endodontist Dr. Frank A. DiNoia, DDS. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti at the city's first splash pad, at Novembrino Park in West Side, on July 22, 2021, and which opened that day. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * The city of Scranton plans to buy for $34,000 part of a vacant lot next to Novembrino Park in West Scranton, shown here on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, to use for off-street parking for visitors to the recreation site that includes a playground and a splash pad. The land being purchased from owner Mary Regina LLC includes 9,628 square feet, or about one-quarter of the lot in the 200 block of South 10th Avenue between Novembrino Park and the offices of endodontist Dr. Frank A. DiNoia, DDS. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 5 The city of Scranton plans to buy for $34,000 part of a vacant lot next to Novembrino Park in West Scranton, shown here on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, to use for off-street parking for visitors to the recreation site that includes a playground and a splash pad. The land being purchased from owner Mary Regina LLC includes 9,628 square feet, or about one-quarter of the lot in the 200 block of South 10th Avenue between Novembrino Park and the offices of endodontist Dr. Frank A. DiNoia, DDS. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nay Aug Park projects: New playground, storage building underway in Scranton
SCRANTON — Nay Aug Park projects involving construction of a disabled-accessible playground and a storage building for holiday light displays both began recently and continue to progress. All-inclusive playground A goal in the works in recent years, the disabled-accessible Butterfly Playground project encountered delays but now has had work underway in recent weeks on construction of a curbing border to surround a 'poured-in-place' rubber surface. A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) 'It's all-inclusive. Kids and adults will be able to use it,' said Bob Gattens, the chairman of the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority that primarily oversees Nay Aug Park. Playground equipment and apparatuses will get installed later at this amenity situated between the Schimelfenig Pavilion and the former zoo building that now houses the St. Cats and Dogs spay/neuter clinic. Most children and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or those who are neurodivergent may not be able to use the same equipment in the same kind of environment as others who aren't facing those challenges. The Butterfly Playground will accommodate them and their families. 'Our goal is to provide a healthy, social skill-building and learning environment,' according to a description of the Butterfly Playground on the Nay Aug Park website. 'It is our effort to improve Nay Aug Park — 'Our Park' — so that those with physical disabilities are included and will know that their community cares about their needs.' A state grant, recreation authority funds and donations are funding the estimated $373,000 project, that might get completed in spring, with the city having taken the lead on construction, Gattens said. A sign for the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction in the background at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The playground also might have future complementary phases, such as a pavilion and picnic tables, and for which the authority will aim to raise funds, he said. Meanwhile, the city last year demolished and removed an old wooden play area called Community Playground in a northeast corner of the park, near Hanlon's Grove and the former zoo building. Scranton work crews demolish and remove the former wooden Community Playground in a northeast corner of Nay Aug Park near the Hanlon's Grove area and former zoo building, on Dec. 11, 2024. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Storage building The authority is constructing a 100-feet-long by 40-feet wide maintenance storage building to house equipment and the many displays of the park's popular annual Holiday Light Show. A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The megawatt Christmas-themed light extravaganza that features displays erected along the park's interior loop road annually draws thousands of visitors. The displays previously were packed into trailers for storage and frames and bulbs often got damaged. 'We were spending close to $10,000 every year replacing bulbs,' Gattens said. The holiday lights display at Nay Aug Park (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO) The former storage trailers along a dead-end of Arthur Avenue also were rusty and unsightly, he said. The light displays now will go into the new building once it's completed, for better storage, maintenance and 'just to protect the investment,' Gattens said. The authority secured a loan to fund the estimated $138,000 cost of the building, which includes $80,000 for the building, $48,000 for a concrete floor and $10,000 for electricity, he said, noting the building will not be heated. A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Officials expect construction of this storage building to be completed soon. At the Feb. 11 meeting of Scranton City Council, council President Gerald Smurl said the holiday light displays remain up inside the park, pending completion of the storage building. 'We kept them up this long because it didn't make sense to take them down, put them in trailers and then take them out and put them into the new building. So that's why you still see the decorations up there,' Smurl said. 'The building is really moving along now.' * A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A sign for the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction in the background at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Scranton work crews demolish and remove the former wooden Community Playground in a northeast corner of Nay Aug Park near the Hanlon's Grove area and former zoo building, on Dec. 11, 2024. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 6 A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fresh dispute over 13-year-old, two-sided billboard in downtown Scranton
SCRANTON — A fresh dispute centers on a 13-year-old, two-sided billboard downtown at 320 Mulberry St. The sign structure supported by one large pole has two angled billboard frames, with one billboard sign facing east and one facing west, and both readily visible to traffic on Mulberry Street. The sign structure was erected in 2012, apparently without city zoning approval, according to discussion during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting Thursday simulcast by Electric City Television and posted on its YouTube channel. A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The signs facing in both directions on this billboard structure previously were 'static' vinyl-type banners. HARB, an advisory board within Scranton city government, heard an application Thursday by Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising of La Plume Twp. to replace the static signs with digital signs. 'We recently purchased the structure at 320 Mulberry St. with a lease interest and we were hoping to convert the static panels that are on that current billboard and change them to digital displays,' company representative Scott Kegerreis told HARB. The company already had removed both static signs and installed one digital sign facing west, before the city issued a stop-work order, Kegerreis told HARB. A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)One side facing west of a two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The city at first thought Don Mammano, who owns the four-story apartment building right next to the billboard structure that's at issue, was doing the sign work and contacted him about it, he told HARB. Mammano in 2013 bought the building called 317 Linden that spans the block between Linden and Mulberry streets. But the billboard structure was separate and not owned by Mammano, he said. He also was surprised to learn that digital billboards were going up there, right next to the north-facing wall of 317 Linden that has a large painting advertising his rentals in that building. 'For me to find out on a Saturday that I got a call from the city that I'm putting a billboard up, which I wasn't, and then I found out that it was being done without a permit with a stop-work order on it,' Mammano told HARB. Don Mammano, owner of the 317 Linden building in downtown Scranton speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St.., which is shown in the red circle at the rear of his 317 Linden building, during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) Mammano objected to the conversion of the billboard faces from static to digital on several grounds, including: the structure apparently never got zoning approval; its dimensions do not appear to match a prior permit that had been obtained from the city to erect the sign structure; his question of whether the sign structure could support the weight of digital signs; and aesthetics. 'I just think there is no right or reason to have a double-sided digital billboard hanging over Mulberry Street,' Mammano told HARB. 'It just seems a little obnoxious to have a double-sided digital billboard that close to Mulberry Street.' Mammano also said he realized that there already are other digital billboards and signs in the area, but their circumstances might be different from the one in question at 320 Mulberry St. HARB member Katie Gilmartin said, 'I understand there are a lot of other digital signs in that vicinity. I tend to agree. I'm a little hesitant to move forward with adding another digital sign and yet I want to make sure we're being consistent with that as a board.' A digital billboard on a parking garage in the 500 block of Mulberry Street is shown in red circle on a slide shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)A digital billboard at the intersection of the McDade Expressway and Mifflin Avenue in Scranton is shown in a red circle in an image shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) HARB showed images of other digital signs or billboards in the Mulberry corridor area, including one on a parking garage in the 500 block of Mulberry Street, and a two-sided sign structure mounted on a pole at the intersection of the McDade Expressway and Mifflin Avenue. Gilmartin also noted HARB previously had denied an application for a digital sign on Courthouse Square. Kegerreis said the zoning office told him that if HARB was on board with the digital conversion, 'then we were good to proceed forward.' HARB voted 3-0 — with Gilmartin and board members Conrad Bosley and William Lesniak all in favor — to table the Kegerreis application for further review with the zoning office. The board also will find out if the city's new zoning ordinance enacted in 2023 grandfathers in such a nonconforming use as allowable, according to the HARB discussion. Scranton's Historical Architecture Review Board on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, from left, Conrad Bosley, Katie Gilmartin and William Lesniak. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) Kegerreis said his company has been in business for 44 years and never encountered such a situation. 'I purchased the structure and the permits with a giant miscommunication between the two parties of saying 'you could do this project.' When I went to do it, unfortunately Don (Mammano) was caught in the middle of it, and rightfully so was upset about what was taking place,' Kegerreis told HARB. 'It was a bad situation that I personally feel bad about it, but we're trying to resolve it.' Scott Kegerreis of Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) HARB expects to revisit the application for a resolution at its next meeting March 13 at Scranton City Hall. 'We'll have to follow up with zoning. Sorry, we'll have to bring you back next month and hopefully in the interim we can get answers to all the questions the board has,' HARB solicitor John Finnerty said. Kegerreis replied, 'I realize it's a unique situation.' * A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * One side facing west of a two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in May of 2012. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * A billboard with a Dunkin' ad at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in April of 2023. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * A billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in May of 2012. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * A billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in Nov. of 2022. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * Scott Kegerreis of Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) * Don Mammano, owner of the 317 Linden building in downtown Scranton speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St.., which is red circled and at the rear of his 317 Linden building, during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) * A digital billboard on a parking garage in the 500 block of Mulberry Street across from historic 1888 Scranton City Hall, is shown in red circle on a slide shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) * A digital billboard along the McDade Expressway where it become Mulberry Street near the intersection of Mifflin Avenue in Scranton is shown in red circle on a slide shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) Show Caption 1 of 11 A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scranton eyes property near redeveloped former Scranton Lace complex as city's second dog park
SCRANTON — The city plans to create a dog park near the new Lace Village community of the redeveloped former Scranton Lace Factory complex. UGI Utilities would donate to the city a mostly vacant lot at Albright Avenue and Marion Street, according to a resolution from the administration of Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti to Scranton City Council. A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The city has agreed to purchase the property for $1, according to the resolution on council's agenda for a possible vote on introduction at council's meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The resolution says: 'The city desires to purchase land on the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street from UGI for one ($1.00) dollar for purposes of exercising site control so the city can then be eligible to receive grant funds for purposes of implementing a dog park at this site.' A resolution takes two separate votes by council to adopt. If introduced by council, a resolution comes back before council at a future meeting, usually the next week, for a vote on adoption. A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The city's website lists 38 parks, about eight of which are affiliated with youth athletic leagues. Connell Park in South Scranton has a dog park. The dimension of the UGI property is about 200 feet along Albright Avenue and 100 feet along Marion Street. The lot has two small, vacant brick buildings and a lawn area and large tree between them, and a large lawn area behind the brick buildings. A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) An old spear-tipped wrought-iron fence cordons off the lot along Albright Avenue and Marion Street. The resolution does not mention whether a plan for a dog park would preserve or restore the two brick buildings and fence. The roof of one of the brick buildings appears to be damaged in spots and some parts of the fence also are damaged and bent. The UGI lot abuts part of the former Scranton Lace factory, which is undergoing a rebirth as Lace Village, a mixed-use residential and business development. A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) For more than a century until closing in 2002, the behemoth manufacturing facility on 11 acres was home to the Scranton Lace Company, once North America's largest manufacturer of Nottingham lace. At its peak, the sprawling complex employed 1,400 workers who enjoyed on-site amenities like a gym, barbershop, theater, bowling lanes and infirmary. It began in 1891 as the Scranton Lace Curtain Manufacturing Company, a mammoth structure covering 6 acres, according to 'Time and Lace, A History Of The Scranton Lace Company,' a 2022 book by Roman Golebiowski and Darlene Miller-Lanning of the Hope Horn Gallery of the University of Scranton. * A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 5 A lot owned by UGI Utilities at the corner of Albright Avenue and Marion Street in Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Scranton plans to buy the property from UGI for $1 and convert the site into a dog park. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two pet dogs die in fire at apartment building in West Scranton
SCRANTON — Two pet dogs died in a late morning fire at an apartment building in West Scranton, authorities said. Tenants of one apartment in the front half of the two-unit building at 311 N. Lincoln Ave. got out safely with their pet dog, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Scott said. Scranton Fire Department firefighters on the scene of a late morning fire at 311 N. Lincoln Ave., in background at left, in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Tenants in the apartment in the rear of the building were not home, but two dogs perished in that unit on the second floor, he said. The fire was reported around 11:25 a.m. on 911 emergency radio communications. A neighbor reported the fire as flames going through the roof, Scott said. 'On the way in, we had a report of possible entrapment,' but searches confirmed that no people were inside, Scott said. 'We just got a quick knock on it,' Scott said of the Fire Department's response. 'There was a lot of heavy smoke when we first pulled up, but we got it under control pretty quick.' Scranton Fire Department firefighters on the scene of a late morning fire at 311 N. Lincoln Ave., in background, in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)Scranton Fire Department firefighters on the scene of a late morning fire at 311 N. Lincoln Ave., in background, in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Firefighters putting out the fire rapidly saved the structure and prevented it from becoming a conflagration threatening to ignite neighboring homes in the tight block, he said. 'The crews did a great job,' Scott said. 'We got it knocked down before it got any worse or extended to any structures around it.' The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said. The building is not immediately habitable from the incident and the Red Cross was expected to assist the displaced residents, Scott said. Doreen Epps, who has lived in the apartment in the front half of the building for over a year, said she was alerted to the fire by her pet Yorkie, Lola. She and two of her young children who were home at the time all got out safely with their dog, Epps said. Her neighbors' dogs that perished in the rear unit were pit bulls, she said. 'I heard the dog barking and I wanted to see why it kept barking, and I saw the smoke coming through the (wall) seam of the (upstairs) bathroom,' Epps said. * Doreen Epps stands outside of her apartment in the building in the background at 311 N. Lincoln Ave. in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, after escaping a late morning fire inside the structure. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Scranton Fire Department firefighters on the scene of a late morning fire at 311 N. Lincoln Ave., in background at left, in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Scranton Fire Department firefighters on the scene of a late morning fire at 311 N. Lincoln Ave., in background, in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * Scranton Fire Department firefighters on the scene of a late morning fire at 311 N. Lincoln Ave., in background, in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Show Caption 1 of 4 Doreen Epps stands outside of her apartment in the building in the background at 311 N. Lincoln Ave. in West Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, after escaping a late morning fire inside the structure. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
