The fire a block from City Hall displaced 10 people — four from the apartment building that was destroyed and six from an apartment building damaged only by smoke, officials said.

All displaced individuals had places to go Thursday evening and beyond, as the owner of the destroyed apartment will provide alternate space for his tenants to rent, while residents of the smoke-damaged apartment building can return home after demolition of the destroyed buildings — work that began Thursday evening, according to Rebecca Brown, director of the city Department of Codes & Inspections.

City officer Christy Heck Wasser was on scene early, saw flames in the first floor of the house — which was empty — and evacuated two people from the apartment building that was ultimately destroyed and two from the apartment building damaged by smoke, even as others pitched in to get people out of the threatened buildings.

The cause of the fire that began in the destroyed house is unknown because of the emergency demolitions, which were ordered due to the precariousness of the structures following the fire, said city fire inspector Justin Smithmyer.

Many of the firefighters ended up exhausted due to the “high heat and high stress” while battling the fire, according to city Fire Chief Adam Free. Mirror photo by William Kibler

The fire caused between $75,000 and $100,000 damage, Smithmyer estimated.

Three firefighters were briefly trapped on an upper floor of the apartment building that was destroyed when a drywall or plaster ceiling collapsed on them, according to city Fire Chief Adam Free.

That crew issued a “mayday” call, leading to the dispatch of a rescue group, but the crew “self-extricated” before the rescue group could reach it, Free said.

That kind of situation is “scary for any firefighter,” Free said.

“It’s not something any incident commander wants to hear,” he added.

Altoona City firefighters and volunteers from area departments battled a fire on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue on Thursday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

While no firefighters were injured, there will “surely be bumps and bruises,” Free said.

It was a difficult fire to fight, according to the chief.

That was partly due to the large quantity of combustible material in the house, from which firefighters eventually withdrew due to the danger, he said.

Many of the firefighters ended up exhausted, according to the chief.

That was evident from their sitting or kneeling in the street and a nearby parking lot in their soot-covered turnout gear and their seeking relief in AMED’s special operations bus, parked across the avenue, where they could get rest, food and hot drinks and have their vital signs checked.

Altoona City firefighters and volunteers from area departments battled a fire on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue on Thursday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“They’re wet, dirty, filthy and (tired), and it’s freezing outside,” said AMED Executive Director Gary Watters, who drove the bus to the scene.

Inside the buildings, firefighters experienced “high heat and high stress,” while wearing 120 pounds worth of equipment and working hard — pulling down ceilings and walls, Free said, to explain the exhaustion.

Three cats died in the house, according to officials.

House owner Deborah English was at her mother’s residence when the fire started, she said, as she paused her pacing along the sidewalk across the avenue, while draped in white blankets provided by aid organizations on scene.

She could have gone into the Second Chance Strays Cat Rescue & Lounge on the corner, whose owner Summer Socie was providing shelter for evacuees, but she wanted to be on the lookout in case her cats managed to escape, she said.

Altoona City firefighters and volunteers from area departments battled a fire on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue on Thursday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

English had been in the process of selling the 11th Avenue house and buying her mother’s house in Greenwood, she said.

She no longer feels safe in the 11th Avenue neighborhood, given that she frequently finds drug paraphernalia on the front porch, she said.

She moved into the 11th Avenue house 45 years ago and has owned it 35 years, she said.

She has insurance, she said.

The owner of the destroyed apartment house also has insurance, Brown said.

Firefighters respond to a fire Thursday afternoon on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue in Altoona. Mirror photo by William Kibler

The other building damaged but not destroyed was the headquarters of Minetech Engineers, owned by Todd Coleman, who was watching firefighters work from across the avenue.

Coleman and his employees had just gone into their third-floor lunchroom to eat about noon when they smelled smoke and heard residents of the apartment that ended up destroyed yelling “fire” — after which they grabbed their coats and a few things and went out to the street, Coleman said.

He was hoping that firefighters would allow him into his building, so he could assess the damage.

The roof seemed to be intact, although there had been fire in the third floor ceiling, he said.

His electronic records are backed up in the “cloud,” so he’s not worried about them, but his older, paper files would be vulnerable to water damage, he said.

“I hope we can figure it out and keep working,” he said, speaking of himself and his four employees.

His business has been in the building for 38 years, he said.

He paused for a long time, seemingly unable to speak, when asked how the situation made him feel.

“It’s emotional,” he said. Yet “you really ache” for the people in the apartment house next door, because “they lost all they’ve got.”

He’s grateful that everyone got out safely, he said.

He has insurance, he stated.

A resident of the apartment building that was destroyed was in the cat shelter as firefighters worked.

That resident, who didn’t want her name used, wasn’t home when she got a phone call from a neighbor about the fire.

She asked that neighbor to go into her apartment and wake her husband and grandmother, and the neighbor complied.

“She’s a very nice lady,” the resident said.

He would have awakened on his own if the neighbor hadn’t intervened, the husband said.

Workers from the American Red Cross and Salvation Army were on scene.

The Red Cross was ready to offer displaced individuals food, clothing, shelter and other “immediate needs,” said Tom Leitz, community disaster program manager for several area counties.

The Salvation Army was prepared to assist with “hydration,” meals, clothing, shelter and emotional and spiritual care for displaced individuals, said Major Chris Blessing.

The Altoona Fire Department had 15 firefighters on duty when the alarm came at 12:23 p.m., Free said.

The department called in 24 others, he said.

To provide relief from exhaustion, the department asked for “outside resources,” Free said.

Lakemont Volunteer Fire Department, Logan Township United Fire Department and Excelsior Fire Department in Bellwood brought a total of about 15 firefighters, Free said.

Firefighters respond to a fire Thursday afternoon on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue in Altoona. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor

Firefighters respond to a fire Thursday afternoon on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue in Altoona. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor

Firefighters respond to a fire Thursday afternoon on the 1100 block of 13th Avenue in Altoona. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor