One resident, multiple firefighters hospitalized after large fire in Glassport
A multi-house fire in Glassport, Allegheny County, on Sunday sent smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, keeping fire crews busy for much of the day.
Three firefighters, along with one resident, were hospitalized due to the fire, with two other firefighters treated on scene.
Several different fire crews spent hours battling the stubborn fire along Seventh Avenue, which caused a portion of the building's roof to collapse before an excavator was brought in to demolish what was left by 10:30 p.m.
"When I looked up, I saw the flames shoot out from under my niece's house, and that's what I discovered. Oh, boy. It got real, real quick," said Randy Mendez, whose home is next to the one that caught fire.
In total, 100 firefighters were needed to bring the fire under control, said Glassport Fire Chief Bruce Snyir.
"It's a pretty pretty big operation," he said.
The chief said the challenges were voids in the home.
"So, the fire just gets in there, and it runs, and it's almost impossible for us to get to it," he added.
Neighbor Sean Gray, like Mendez, is also a family member of those who lost their home.
"They are very upset right now because they lost everything," Gray said. "She goes to work every day, works their butt off, and this happens."
For him, the fire came with a sense of dejá vu. A different neighbor's home had a fire recently. The fire chief told KDKA-TV that he believes the homes have the same owners.
Because of that, he said the fire scared him.
"I already went through it once," he said.
Mendez felt that sense of dejá vu, too. He worried the fire would spread to his home.
"Terrifying," Mendez said. "When I was 12, my house burnt down, so it was kind of like almost reliving something like that."
Neighbors that they were evacuated due to the severity of the flames. They said the fire started with what sounded like a boom.
"It's a scary thing. I know it [isn't] my house, but I know it's my sister-in-law and their neighbors; they're real nice people," one neighbor said. "The dad actually ran over to help keep our fire under control, and this happened right after that, a week apart."
One of the firefighters who was hospitalized had been released from the hospital as of Sunday evening, Chief Snyir confirmed. He was unsure of the status of the other two firefighters. None of the injuries the firefighters sustained were deemed serious.
The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
