Kristie Altmann had only just set her keys down after coming home from work when the woman she and her boyfriend shared their Roselynn Street duplex with began pounding on the door screaming, "The house is on fire."
She didn't waste any time. She and her neighbor, Joanne Williams, rushed out of the house and called 911 at 5:32 p.m., she said.
Scranton fire crews responded to 1708 Roselynn St. minutes later to battle the blaze that scorched one half of the house and damaged the other half with heavy smoke.
Acting Assistant Chief Jack Davis said that no one was injured in the fire. Officials were still determining what had sparked it Friday.
There was "heavy smoke when we pulled up and a lot of fire coming out when we got to the door," Assistant Chief Davis said.
It took firefighters 20 minutes to quell the flames, but the damage to the right apartment was extensive. The siding was blackened and warped and the interior appeared to be much the same from the street.
There was less damage to Ms. Altmann's apartment, but she had made plans to stay with family.
Assistant Chief Davis said the Red Cross would assist anyone else who lived in the home and hadn't made similar arrangements.
"I'm glad I got home from work when I did or my dog would be gone," Ms. Altmann said.
Her pit bull-Labrador` mix, Suri, was shaken but unharmed.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock, @jkohutTT on Twitter