Elizabeth firefighters battle house fire despite hydrant failure

Firefighters in Elizabeth Township say they spent more than four hours at the scene of a house fire in the township after a nearby hydrant experienced a “catastrophic failure.”

Crews were dispatched to the fire at the 900 block of Dillon Road just before 4 p.m. on Friday, according to a social media post by the Elizabeth Township Fire Department.

The home, which sat off the main roadway, was only accessible by a small bridge with a weight restriction, which only allowed a single engine to approach the blaze initially, the post said.

Crews ran hand lines from other vehicles before the hydrant supplying their efforts failed, according to the post.

The department said that caused a “shorter period” without access to water before a secondary supply was established.

According to a July report by the Mon Valley Independent, Elizabeth Township Fire Department Chief Adam Janosko had been trying to gather more information about local hydrants from Pennsylvania-American Water, the local utility company. The article said some of the data the company provided the department was outdated.

That came after a hydrant blew out in front of Elizabeth Borough’s fire department, closing and warping the street, according to the report from the Independent.

Janosko did not immediately respond to a TribLive request for comment.

The post did not mention whether anyone was injured in the blaze.

Emergency dispatchers sent several more units to the home just before 8 a.m. Saturday morning for a “possible rekindle” of the blaze.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.