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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; City firefighters responded to smoky conditions downtown at the PNC Bank building Sunday afternoon.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre City Fire Chief Jay Delaney said the fire department was notified by Luzerne County 911 for an automatic fire alarm at the PNC Bank Building, 11-19 W. Market St., at 12:39 p.m.</p><p>City police blocked off traffic on West Market Street from River Street to Public Square and at the intersection of Northampton and Franklin streets.</p><p>&#8220;When crews arrived they were met with heavy smoke in the basement,&#8221; Delaney said. &#8220;Our guys had a tough time communicating because our radios were not getting great signals in the basement.&#8221;</p><p>Delaney said smoke traveled up to the 11th floor.</p><p>&#8220;Because of how large the building is, it took us awhile to determine where the smoke was spreading,&#8221; the chief noted. &#8220;It took a while, but we eventually found out it was coming from an open space in the building.&#8221;</p><p>The 11-story building is a commercial and residential property. Residents from the fourth through eleventh floors were effected.</p><p>&#8220;Residents were taken to an isolated spot of the building that authorities deemed safe,&#8221; Delaney said.</p><p>The residential floors are owned by D&amp;D Realty Group and the lower floors, including the basement where the issue is believed to have started, is owned by PNC Bank, according to Delaney.</p><p>A preliminary investigation showed that the incident was most likely electrical, according to Delaney.</p><p>As of 1:30 p.m., Delaney said an electrician was coming to the scene to assess the problem and firefighters were still on scene.</p><p>Fifteen firefighters, four fire trucks along with three to four ambulances and members of the Kingston RIT team responded to the incident. </p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Firefighters respond to smoke in downtown building