Body Found In Storage Unit Following PA Facility Fire

What began as an early-morning fire call in Berks County, PA ended in tragedy after firefighters discovered a body inside a burned storage unit on Sunday.

Crews from Reading Firefighters Local 1803 were dispatched around 3:30 a.m. to the area of Angelica Street and Lancaster Avenue, where a row of storage units had erupted in flames. According to officials, firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke conditions spreading through multiple units.

The blaze proved unusually difficult to contain. Some units were packed with hazardous materials, including fireworks and propane tanks, which intensified the heat and complicated suppression efforts. Despite the danger, crews managed to get the fire under control after an extended battle.

As firefighters began their final sweep—checking for hot spots and areas that could reignite—they made a grim discovery: a deceased person inside one of the burned units.

Authorities have not released the victim’s identity or gender, and the Berks County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The Reading Fire Marshal’s Office, led by Jeremy Searfoss, has launched a joint investigation with local police to determine both how the fire started and whether the person had been living inside the unit.

“These facilities are not designed for human occupancy,” Searfoss said, noting that investigators are exploring whether the victim may have been using the unit as shelter.

The discovery has raised broader concerns about unofficial habitation in self-storage facilities—a growing but largely unseen issue in parts of Pennsylvania and across the U.S., where rising housing costs push some residents to seek temporary refuge in rented units.

As of Thursday, no official cause for the fire has been determined, and authorities have not disclosed which storage facility was involved, however it appears that it may have been Storage World based on the facility description.

The Berks County Coroner’s Office is expected to release additional information once the autopsy is complete and next of kin are notified.