ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — One person has died after an apartment fire.
According to emergency dispatch, fire officials were sent to the area of East High Street and South Spruce Street for a fire around 6:30 a.m. on February 17.
The coroner arrived on scene around 7:55 a.m.
According to Elizabethtown Police Chief Edward Cunningham, one person and a dog have died.
FOX43 spoke with Cortney Shepler, the woman who lives on the top floor apartment. She was at work when the flames broke out. That's when she received a call from her neighbor who lives across the street.
"I'm like, 'oh maybe it's just a small thing' and then she said that my neighbor was deceased. And I blanked after that," Shepler said.
Cunningham said the departments will have critical incident debriefings to help with mental wellness.
"It's definitely something that's difficult for the first responders to handle,
Cunningham said. "Being that this is a small town, we pretty much know everybody who live in our community and having something like this happen definitely takes its toll on the first responders."
As for Shepler, who hasn't seen her apartment yet, she said all of her items are replaceable. She's still wrapping her head over the loss of her friend.
"She was a fantastic person, fun loving," Shepler said. "I enjoyed being around her. If I needed something she would help me out to get it. If she needed something I was there for her too. You never think for a second that'll happen to you until it does."
Investigators don't know what caused the fire but said it started in the back of the building.
The State Police Fire Marshal is investigating.