The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Fire Capt. Ed Farley was helping to douse a three-alarm fire in Homewood early Friday when he looked over and saw a wall of the house collapsing on two firefighters.
“Before we knew it, it was on the ground,” Farley said. “We pulled them out through the windows, which is amazing. It’s a miracle we didn’t have a tragedy here.”
The vacant house at Hamilton and North Homewood avenues caught fire about 3 a.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Mullen. The fire began in the basement and quickly spread to the roof.
The building collapsed without warning. By chance, Capt. John Kerestes and Firefighter Guy Scatena were standing in spots that lined them up with the blown-out windows in the wall.
As the wall came down, each firefighter was inside a window frame. But the burning windowsill struck Kerestes, who underwent surgery at UPMC Mercy for a shattered ankle. Part of a window frame also hit Scatena, who suffered a concussion, neck injury, broken nose and chipped teeth. Doctors treated him at UPMC Presbyterian.
“The wall missed them by feet,” Farley said.
Kerestes, 59, of Duquesne Heights became a city firefighter in 1971. Scatena, 40, of Overbrook joined the Fire Bureau in 2001. Both work at Engine 15 in Larimer. Neither could be reached for comment.
“They were in motion, running for their lives,” said Battalion Chief Tim Kopicko. “We barely had time to react. It was a close call.”
Chief Darryl Jones said all firefighters rely on their training and experience and know there’s no guarantee they’ll come back to the station when they leave to fight a fire.
“The potential for our brothers to be killed or more severely injured was high,” Jones said. “Situations like this remind us to be careful and diligent in our choice of tactics when fighting a fire in a vacant or abandoned structure.”
Arson investigators will try to determine the cause of the fire. Officials said the house was vacant for several years and no utilities were connected.
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