Muhlenberg Township moves on Oak Forest fire disaster steps
The June 15 Muhlenberg agenda carried a disaster-emergency declaration for the Oak Forest fire, damage estimated above $2 million, plus a $312,589 fire pumper.
Four days after the Oak Forest apartment fire displaced about 50 residents, Muhlenberg Township's Board of Commissioners took up the formal machinery of disaster response. The June 15 meeting agenda carried a motion to declare the June 11 fire a disaster emergency, the legal step that unlocks state and federal aid programs, alongside a $312,589 payment for a new fire engine.
One honesty note up front: the township has not yet posted minutes or video from June 15, so the agenda items below are what the board scheduled, not confirmed votes. We will update this report when the record posts, and the July 20 meeting is the next checkpoint.
The fire, and the declaration
The June 11 fire at 2251 and 2271 Hampden Boulevard tore through Buildings G and H of the Oak Forest complex, destroying the roof and displacing roughly 50 residents from about 20 units. No one was injured. A State Police Fire Marshal damage estimate put losses above $2 million.
A local disaster-emergency declaration is more than a formality: it is the trigger document in Pennsylvania's aid chain. Within days of the township action, the state activated PEMA's Disaster Recovery Assistance Program (grants up to $15,000 for lower-income, uninsured households) and the U.S. Small Business Administration opened low-interest disaster loans. The full aid menu, deadlines included, is in our guide to Oak Forest fire aid; the walk-in loan center at 2320 Hampden Boulevard operates through July 16, and SBA physical-damage applications close August 24.
The fire engine
The same agenda carried item 8.j, a $312,589 payment to Glick Fire Equipment for a 2025 Pierce Saber pumper, along with Resolution 2026-08 reimbursing the township's general fund for apparatus spending. The juxtaposition is the story: the month a major fire tested the township's fire service, the board was also paying for its next front-line engine. Small Berks municipalities finance apparatus in different ways; Leesport, one township north, drew $23,936.84 from its dedicated fire tax the same month for its own Pierce payment, a pattern we will keep tracking across the county.
What we're watching
- The June 15 minutes or video, to confirm both items passed and record the votes.
- Any township code-enforcement or condemnation action on Buildings G and H. Nothing in the public record confirms one either way, and we will not assert it until a document does.
- Whether displaced residents' aid applications hit obstacles as the July 16 and August 24 deadlines approach.
Muhlenberg's board meets monthly, on the third Monday at 6 p.m. at 210 George Street. All our coverage of the township collects at its coverage page, and questions for the board work the same way they do at the county: show up, give your name, and ask.