By Moustafa Ayad
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Copyright 2007 P.G. Publishing Co.
A stubborn five-alarm fire burned through four row houses in Lawrenceville yesterday afternoon, injuring a firefighter and sending black, sooty smoke into the sky over most of the neighborhood.
City firefighters struggled with the blaze that began shortly after noon because of cold weather that made reaching the source of the fire difficult. One firefighter, who was not identified, suffered second-degree burns to his face and was treated at West Penn Hospital.
“This was a very labor-intensive fire,” said Fire Chief Michael Huss. “Our firefighters had to dig in there to get it out.”
The fire started on the second floor of a vacant row house at 5307 Dresden Way and quickly spread to the adjoining homes through a common roof.
Firefighters worked in shifts, emerging from the fire with blackened faces and soot-covered uniforms.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl surveyed the scene, taking time to talk to several neighbors.
Chief Huss said the cause was not known. Arson investigators were on the scene. The American Red Cross was assisting an undetermined number of people displaced by the fire.
Neighbors said a family recently was evicted from 5307 Dresden, but continued squatting in the home.
Shantell Moore, 23, was listening to her radio when the smell of smoke caused her to look out a window on the third floor of 5311 Dresden.
“There was flames shooting out the windows and the roof,” Ms. Moore said. With no time to think about what to grab, she managed to put on a coat and escaped with only her state identification card and her son’s Social Security card.
Running downstairs, she told her father, Walter Frison, 60, to call 911 and get out of the house. The two managed to run out before flames consumed the third floor of the home.
“All I got is the clothes on my back,” said Mr. Frison.
Robert McBride, 45, rushed home from dialysis treatment to find his home at 5309 Dresden Way engulfed in flames. His first thoughts were about his dog, Sassie, and his cat, Miss Kitty.
Without his pets, Mr. McBride paced outside of the smoldering homes still being worked on by firefighters.
“I have had Miss Kitty since she was a kitten,” said Mr. McBride. “Now, I got nothing, nothing.”
As Mr. McBride rubbed his brow, he reached for a cigarette. Feeling around in his pockets he could not find a lighter that worked.
“Got a light?” he asked a stranger. “All this fire and I can’t light a cigarette.”