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All four residents of a four-unit apartment building on the 2400 block of Broad Avenue escaped a fire Wednesday evening, making their way out after fire that began on the first floor climbed open stud cavities to the attic.

No one was hurt, and a dog and a cat that lived in the building also got out safely, according to Ivy Zerphey, a resident of the building and a property manager for Kalyani Real Estate, which controls the apartment house.

On scene within about two minutes of the 8:31 p.m. alarm, city firefighters conducted an interior attack — although they knew everyone was out before they arrived — and they had the fire under control in about half an hour, according to Fire Chief Adam Free.

Zerphey was in her living room when she heard the building’s fire alarm, she said.

She came out of her apartment, looked down and saw fire starting to bubble through the walls of the stairwell, she said.

She roused the resident of the other apartment on the second floor, then ran up to the third floor, where she banged on the door of the single apartment there, whose resident was using a fire extinguisher in an attempt to put out fire that had broken out inside his apartment, she said.

He was unaware that the fire was elsewhere in the building, she said.

“I said, ‘we need to get out,'” she said.

He complied.

The fire caused most of its damage after traveling up through balloon framing, which is an older construction method in which studs extend from the foundation to the roof.

The building is probably salvageable, although there is approximately $40,000 damage, Free estimated.

Not long after firefighters arrived, yellow-orange bursts of flame pulsed out of the peak of the gable facade facing the street, as a firefighter worked just inside an attic window and as another one used a long-handled tool to pull open vent holes in the roof from his perch on an aerial truck extension ladder.

Later, after the fire was under control, firefighters sat on the asphalt of the avenue, resting.

The firefighters who had gone into the house first came to sit one after another on a gurney that AMED had set up on the sidewalk to have their vital signs checked.

It was a precaution to detect any problems that may have resulted from their efforts in the building, Free said.

The Red Cross was expected to be on scene to help with blankets and food, and the Salvation Army was supplying drinks, according to people at the site.

Kalyani has some open apartments that it was planning to offer to the displaced residents who otherwise didn’t have a place to go, Zerphey said.

Everybody was assured to have someplace, she said.

Free didn’t know the cause of the fire or whether it ought to be considered suspicious.

Fire inspector Justin Smithmyer will be investigating, he said.

Landlord Shawn Sponsler was watching from across the avenue.

He owns 14 rental units in five buildings — four of which are in the city.

Fire is a major worry, he said.

“You’re always concerned for the tenants’ safety,” he said.

It’s heartening, however, that a virtual “army” shows up almost immediately when there’s an emergency like Wednesday night’s — firefighters, police and ambulance workers, he said.

The city’s rental inspection program is also reassuring, with its emphasis on life safety issues like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and sufficient avenues of egress, he said.

It’s all especially welcome, given the city’s older housing stock, he said.

The taxes that support all of that is some of “the best money I spend,” he said.

All 13 firefighters on duty in the city’s four fire stations Wednesday evening, plus another 12 called out for the blaze, were on scene, Free said.

On the sidewalk near the AMED gurney, Free tended a small table on a tripod where identification tags for all the firefighters on site hung or lay.

Nearby, Assistant Chief Steve Osmolinski was keeping track of where each of those firefighters were — most critically, those inside the building, Free said.

“If something should happen, we know who is where,” Free said.

There has been a rash of fires in the city in recent months.

Free has no explanation.

“If I knew (why), I’d put a stop to it,” he said.

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Moudy’s Mayhem, located at 6139 6th Ave, hosted its grand opening March 1. The business was created by Jareth Moudy and his dad, who own a junk removal business. Instead of throwing away all of the junk, the pair decided to use it for another purpose.

“Everyone thinks it’s a great idea. It definitely brings something unique to Altoona,” Jareth said.

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Since starting the Facebook page in January, Moudy’s Mayhem has almost 1,000 followers. On Monday, the business already had a few customers who were excited to try it out.

“I feel like this will be a great, you know, experience for him to just come out and like, let out some anger. I would love to do it as well, because I go through depression. So I feel like, you know, both of us hitting something will definitely release a lot of anger,” Nikki Walker said, referring to herself and her son.

“Got a lot of anger. I want to let it out. Release it. Just, it’s hard to have it all built up without letting it out. So I like to come here, want to come here,” Tre’von Walker, Nikki’s son said.

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Moudy’s Mayhem is open at various times Monday through Friday.

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For more information, you can call the business at (814) 935-3942 or email them at office@moudysmayhem.com.

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McAuliffe Heights at Irving School fifth grader Jaxson Koch, 10, was recently honored for saving a schoolmate from choking on a bus ride home from school Jan. 30. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

Jan. 30 was just an ordinary day of school for McAuliffe Heights at Irving School fifth grader Jaxson Koch before he got on his school bus and found himself in a serious situation.

About halfway through his bus route home, Jaxson noticed a fourth grader sitting near him choking on a bottle cap after the student, who was chewing on the cap, accidentally swallowed it.

“Can you talk,” Jaxson repeatedly asked the student on his bus.

When the student didn’t respond, Jaxson, 10, sprung into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver, a first aid technique that uses abdominal thrusts to clear blocked airways. He learned the maneuver in school during gym class.

“During gym, we sometimes learn things about the body. Whenever you push on their stomach, air comes through their mouth and pushes out the bottle cap,” Jaxson said, noting gym is his favorite class, but he also enjoys learning in his math and reading classes.

In math class Tuesday, Jaxson learned how to use line grids, something which he said he enjoyed.

Jason Little, Jaxson’s math teacher, said he’s an excellent student who demonstrated exceptional leadership with his actions that saved the life of another student.

“I’m just so proud of him,” Little said. “We talk to all of the students about being leaders and helping others. I’m just so proud of how Jaxson stepped up to help a classmate.”

Raisa Gray, the school’s acting principal, said she felt Jaxson’s quick thinking and response to help a friend in need embodied the principles taught in Altoona Area’s Leader in Me program, a districtwide initiative to build leadership and life skills in students at every grade level.

“We want them to take initiative, we want them to be compassionate and we saw that in Jaxson’s actions,” Gray said. “I was incredibly proud of him.”

Jaxson’s actions were so compassionate, Gray decided to honor him with a certificate during an assembly last week in front of the entire school.

“It takes a lot for a kid like that to stand up and be able to act so quickly,” Gray said. “To me, it was an honor to recognize him for what he did that day.”

After the assembly, many of Jaxson’s classmates commended his bravery and kindness.

“They talked about … like how brave I was, how kind I was for saving another student’s life,” he said, noting the student whose life he saved repeatedly thanked him after the incident.

“It meant a lot for me to be honored,” Jaxson said. “They recognized me in front of the whole school. I was kind of nervous and excited.”

Outside of school, Jaxson enjoys playing baseball and basketball and spending time with his older siblings Xavier, 14, and Maleah, 16.

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Jaxson said, “Maybe a lawyer.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.

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For many years, the Altoona Mirror Classic boys all-star basketball game turned into a dunk contest with the area’s best athletes trying to show off their best moves.

In a sign that basketball is changing with the emergence of deadly 3-point shooters like Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Trae Young, Thursday’s game had just two dunks — a ceremonial one by a still-recovering Bishop Guilfoyle Academy senior Trevor Rehm to begin the game and a flush by State College’s Charlie Yartz.

But there were 32 3-pointers — 17 by Central PA and 15 by Blair County in Central PA’s 109-97 victory at Penn State Altoona’s Adler Arena.

Along with his dunk, Yartz made four 3-pointers, including one to cap a 20-0 Central PA run that extended from the end of the second quarter into the third quarter that decided the game.

“We didn’t miss a lot,” Yartz said. “We had a lot of great players from around Central PA, and it was great to compete with them.”

The Central PA victory increased its series advantage to 13-5 over Blair County.

Yartz finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and was voted Central PA Most Outstanding Player.

“It was awesome,” Yartz said. “I got to see all the kids I played with coming up. It was a good way to end my high school career.”

Johnstown’s all-time leading scorer, Donte Tisinger, made a push to be the third Trojan in as many years to take home the Most Outstanding Player trophy for Central PA following Nyerre Collins and Jahmir Collins with a game-high 25 points. Tisinger scored the final 11 points of the game for his team to hold off a fourth-quarter charge by Blair County.

Tyrone’s Sam Crilly scored eight of his 21 points in the final quarter and helped Blair County pull within 10 points on a three-point play with 2:09 left in the game.

But another Tyrone player — Andrew Escala — took home the Blair County Most Outstanding Player award following a 21-point effort that included six 3-pointers.

“It’s fun not having set plays and running up and down and playing how you want,” Escala said. “It’s really exciting.”

Escala is a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy and wants to eventually move to New York to develop a clothing business, but he’s decided to put those plans on hold and return to the court he played on Thursday.

“I think next, actually, I’m going to commit to Penn State Altoona to play basketball,” Escala said. “Eventually, I’ll go to New York. Right now, I want to stay near home and play, basically, for my hometown team.”

Escala helped Blair County take the lead when he followed Eli Muthler’s 3-pointer with one of his own with 4:33 to play in the half.

Central Cambria’s Grady Snyder responded with a layup to put Central PA ahead 37-36, and Escala hit another 3-pointer. Snyder tied the game with another basket before Williamsburg’s Logan Brantner gave Blair County its final lead at 41-39.

Central PA fired back with a 9-0 run, including four points from Snyder, who finished with 15 points.

“I was just trying to push the pace and get our team going,” Snyder said. “We were getting the ball up the floor and making plays in transition. We had some good shots there.”

Penn Cambria’s Brandon Rabish got into the 3-point fun late in the game, connecting on four down the stretch to finish with 12 points.

Both teams substituted frequently with many of the players on the court for the first time in weeks.

“It is tough, because it’s a different type of conditioning than football or baseball,” Snyder said. “But it felt good to be back out on the court for one last go.”

Tyrone’s Kendall Lehner finished with 15 points, bringing the three-player Tyrone point total to 57 points.

Escala is hoping it’s just the first good performance he has in Adler Arena.

“It means a lot to have a good game in my first game on my new home court,” Escala said.

CENTRAL PA (109): Kargo 0 0-0 0, Yartz 7 0-0 18, Melvin 3 0-0 7, Tisinger 11 2-2 25, Gouse 0 0-0 0, Whysong 2 0-0 6, Snyder 6 2-3 15, Nicholson 1 0-0 3, Rabish 4 0-0 12, Dumm 4 0-2 8, Koleno 2 0-0 5, Fleming 4 0-0 10. Totals — 44 4-7 109.

BLAIR COUNTY (97): Crilly 9 1-1 21, Muthler 3 2-4 9, Steiner 3 0-0 7, Foor 3 0-0 8, Lehner 6 1-1 15, Gates 0 2-2 2, Albarano 3 1-2 7, Escala 7 1-2 21, Brantner 1 0-0 2, Schreier 0 0-0 0, Byler 1 0-0 3, Bell 0 0-0 0, Rehm 1 0-0 2. Totals — 37 8-12 97.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central PA 21 31 28 29 — 109

Blair County 15 28 18 36 — 97

3-point goals: Central PA 17 (Whysong 2, Snyder, Nicholson, Yartz 4, Rabish 4, Melvin, Tisinger, Koleno, Fleming 2); Blair County 15 (Crilly 2, Escala 6, Muthler, Steiner, Foor 2, Lehner 2, Byler).

Officials: Clark Adelman, Randy Burkett, Dan Solomon.

Maridav // Shutterstock

How gas prices have changed in Altoona in the last week

Gas prices have gone up by 16 cents per gallon since the beginning of last month but are still down by nearly 30 cents compared to this time last year. The national average fuel price is about $3.26, with McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, seeing the cheapest metro-area prices at $2.66 and Santa Rosa, California, with the most expensive at $5.23.

After issuing multiple pauses on tariffs against Canadian and Mexican imports since taking office, President Trump on Wednesday announced a sweeping 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S., with many countries facing even steeper duties. However, the White House said oil and gas imports are exempted from new tariffs.

Jolted by the impact of the tariff announcement, the stock market plummeted on Thursday, with U.S. oil prices dropping 7%. The double-whammy of lower prices and higher costs for crucial materials like steel pipes may have a major impact on domestic oil and gas production. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced Thursday that it would increase production to help stabilize the market.

Expecting market volatility, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan projects the upcoming switch to summer-blend fuel at gas stations will likely translate to higher prices at the pump.

"As we head into April, Americans should expect gas prices to rise, with a peak that could occur in mid-to-late April," De Haan said in a statement this week. "While average prices remain well below last year's levels, we'll likely begin to catch up, with prices expected to increase in most—if not all—states over the next few weeks."

Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in Altoona, PA metro area using data from AAA. Gas prices are current as of April 3.

Altoona by the numbers- Gas current price: $3.60--- Pennsylvania average: $3.37- Week change: +$0.21 (+6.1%)- Year change: -$0.11 (-2.9%)- Historical expensive gas price: $5.03 (6/17/22)

- Diesel current price: $4.07- Week change: +$0.10 (+2.5%)- Year change: -$0.43 (-9.6%)- Historical expensive diesel price: $6.27 (5/20/22)

Metros with the most expensive gas#1. Santa Rosa, CA: $5.23#2. San Rafael, CA: $5.20#3. Napa, CA: $5.18

Metros with the least expensive gas#1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX: $2.66#2. Corpus Christi, TX: $2.67#3. Lubbock, TX: $2.67

This story features writing by Tim Bruns and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 371 metros.

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