51°
Charles Knicely, 59, 675 Wyncroft Lane, Kensington Club Apartments off Wabank Road was pronounced dead at his home at 6:54 p.m.
Emergency crews were called to the complex at 4:39 p.m., the Lancaster Township Fire Department explained in a release.
"Heavy flames" were coming from apartment 8 when firefighters arrived.
"Due to historically low water pressure in the complex," officials with the company explained a task force of 10 tankers was called to the scene from the following fire departments and companies Manheim Township, Bird In Hand, Conestoga, New Danville, West Willow, Witmer, Hempfield, West Hempfield, and Blue Rock.
The majority of the fire was out by 5 p.m. but the complex continued to smolder until 6 p.m. and crews "returned twice overnight to extinguish hotspots," officials said.
The scene was cleared at 9 p.m., leaving 22 people in the care of the Red Cross, apartments 4 and 8 uninhabitable, a dog, a cat, and Knicely all died in the blaze, the fire department explained.
Knicely was found inside his "heavily damaged" apartment with significant thermal injuries, the coroner said. An autopsy on Tuesday, Aug. 13 determined his cause of death was "smoke inhalation and thermal burns" and the manner was an accident, as stated in an updated release.
The cause of the fire remains unknown. "Damage is estimated at $1.5 million for the building and $250,000 for the contents," the department said.
Click the video players in the Facebook posts below to watch firefights battle the blaze.
Details about Knicely's life were not available at the time of publishing. His family is invited to contact Daily Voice with funeral details, a statement, and/or photos by emailing jpikora@dailyvoice.com.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hershey and receive free news updates.
