By Rick Wills
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
PITCAIRN, Pa. — An early morning fire on Saturday in a Pitcairn apartment building left a woman burned, three firefighters injured and 16 people homeless.
“For some reason, a lot of people were awake in the building. If they had all been asleep, we would have had even more problems,” Pitcairn Fire Chief Henry Farally said about the fire, which was reported at 2 a.m. yesterday.
The woman was taken to Forbes Regional Hospital and later airlifted to UPMC Mercy. Farally did not know the woman’s name.
“She was out of the building before we even got there,” he said.
Two firefighters were treated and released for smoke inhalation. A third firefighter who fell on ice and hit his head, was treated and released.
The building’s 16 residents were either staying with relatives or in hotels provided by the American Red Cross, Farally said.
The fire started in a third-floor apartment of the frame building and was confined to that level, which Farally said was gutted. The rest of the building is uninhabitable due to severe smoke and water damage, Farally said.
The fire took about two hours to extinguish.
Subfreezing temperatures and snow made conditions difficult for firefighters.
“It was just miserable out there because of the ice and cold and everything. Everything there is still frozen.”
The Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating the cause.
Copyright 2010 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved