Crime News

Meth Lab Explosion at Greenleaf Street Home: Police

Explosion happened three hours before a search warrant was to be served at house linked to two-month methamphetamine investigation, police said.

  UPDATED: 12:50 p.m. Seven people, including two Bethlehem police officers, suffered injuries Friday morning as a result of an explosion and fire at a suspected methamphetamine lab at 1965 Greenleaf St., police said. The explosion and fire happened about three hours before Bethlehem police planned to execute a search warrant at the house, which was obtained as a result of a two-month investigation into methamphetamine sales in the city and Bethlehem Township, police said. The Bethlehem Fire Department was called to the fire at 3:01 a.m. and “quickly extinguished the blaze,” police said. “After the fire portion of this event was contained early this morning, there were no hazardous conditions that would have affected those in the …

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Fire at Lehigh Off-Campus Housing Ruled Accidental

A candle in the room of one of the victims started the blaze, which forced 8 Lehigh students out of their homes.

  A fire that burned eight Lehigh University students out of their off-campus housing a week ago was started by a candle in the room of one of the students, The Express Times reported. Deputy Fire Chief Robert Novatnack has determined that the fire at 447 Montclair Ave. was accidental, according to the newspaper. Andrew Douglas, who was injured by the blaze, has been released from the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest and is recovering at his parents’ home, Novatnack told the newspaper. The fire burned through the first floor of the half-double and forced eight Lehigh University students to evacuate both sides of the twin.

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Two Stefko Boulevard Businesses Damaged by Fire

Let's Talk Turkey and Luvz Nails sustain extensive damage in Tuesday night blaze.

  Two adjoining Stefko Boulevard businesses sustained heavy damage in a fire on Tuesday night. Bethlehem firefighters responded to Let’s Talk Turkey, a deep fried turkey restaurant at 2140 Stefko Boulevard, and Luvz Nails at 2142 Stefko Boulevard, and had the fire under control in about 15 minutes, according to The Express-Times. Flames came through the roof of the turkey restaurant and firefighters opened up the building’s roof to gain easier access to the fire to extinguish it. Neither business was open at the time and the fire was not cooking-related, city Fire Chief George Barkanic told the newspaper. The incident is under investigation. Nester Video Production shot footage of firefighters in action at the scene.

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Salons Rally Around Stylist who Lost Home to Fire

Sweet & Sassy at Promenade and Versatile Strands in SouthSide are both raising money for employee who lost her and her infant son's belongings in Allentown fire.

  Salons in South Bethlehem and the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley are rallying around a hair stylist who lost her Allentown home to a fire less than two weeks ago. Micheila Diaz, her infant son, mother and sister barely escaped with the clothes on their back when a cooking oil fire destroyed their house on Susquehanna Street in Allentown on July 15. Now the two salons where Diaz works, Versatile Strands in South Bethlehem, and Sweet & Sassy in the Promenade Shops, are taking up collections to help her and her family. At Sweet & Sassy, salon employees will also be donating their time. In a special event on Thursday, from 3 to 8 p.m., 100 percent of every salon service booked – including haircuts, manicures and pedicures – will be donated…

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West Bethlehem Family Displaced by Fire

Red Cross provided meals, clothing and a temporary place to stay.

  A family of four – two adults and two children – was displaced by a house fire in West Bethlehem, Wednesday evening, according to a news release from the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley. The Red Cross provided temporary lodging, food, clothing and toiletry items to the family that lives at 1542 Kelchner Road, where the fire took place. The organization said they responded to the fire at about 6 p.m. No further details on the fire were immediately available.

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MRI Unit Fire Causes Emergency Room Evacuation, Disaster Response

No one was injured in the Wednesday evening fire at the new St. Luke's Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township.

A fire that broke out in the MRI unit at the new St. Luke's Hospital Anderson campus forced the evacuation of its emergency room Wednesday evening and prompted a major emergency response as multiple fire departments and dozens of ambulances from at least half a dozen municipalities converged in response to a potential disaster. No one was injured in the fire, which was first reported around 7:15 p.m., and it was fully contained to the unit, said Stephen Andrews, St. Luke's Network Director for Marketing and Public Relations, from the scene. “The MRI tech, he was all over it. He saw something was wrong, and took all the right steps,” Andrews said. There was a patient in the unit just before the fire, but it was unclear if they were present …

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Firefighters Save Another Dog, But 2 Cats Killed in Fire

No people were home when fire broke out in basement of Eighth Avenue home.

Dog and Bird Saved from Burning House

Six people displaced by fire in Marvine-Pembroke Housing Development.

Family of Four Displaced by Fire

Two adults and two children left homeless by blaze on Main Street.

A family of four was displaced by fire at 2100 Main St. in Bethlehem this afternoon, according to a news release issued by the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley. The Red Cross provided the family – two adults and two children – with vouchers for lodging meals and toiletry items. The fire happened at about 4:30 p.m. No other information was immediately available.

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Editor's Corner

Recent Incidents Highlight 412 Corridor's Congestion

Route 412 in Hellertown and Bethlehem isn't just a highway to the casino--it's an artery that local residents rely on. Two recent incidents have demonstrated, however, that this road has become dangerously congested.

What do you do when you're told to detour, but there's practically nowhere left to go? Saucon Valley and Bethlehem residents who rely on Route 412 to get to work, to school--and in emergencies to a doctor or hospital--may have asked themselves this question during two recent incidents that clogged 412 traffic north and south of the I-78 interchange on the border between the two municipalities. The first incident occurred July 21, when a car fire broke out at the Chevy 21 auto dealership at 1100 Hellertown Road (Route 412) in Bethlehem. No one was seriously injured, but 12 cars were destroyed by the fast-moving blaze. And considering that the fire broke out amid gasoline-filled vehicles, the outcome could have been much worse. Although the …

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