Man, woman perish in Fayette County house fire; pet dog recovering

A man and woman perished in an early morning house fire Thursday in Fayette County.

Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker identified the victims as David Brooks Sr., 72, and Lori Cossell, 53, both of Dunbar Township.

The couple were married, according to Tpr. Kalee Barnhart, state police public information officer at the Uniontown station. She said the cause of the fire was undetermined Thursday and is being investigated by the state police fire marshal unit.

Baker said a ruling on the cause of the deaths was pending results of autopsies, to be performed Friday morning.

It was unclear whether anyone else was in the home at the time of the fire, reported to Fayette County 911 shortly after 3 a.m. on Hardy Hill Road. There were no other people injured in the fire, Barnhart said.

A pet dog was saved from the fire and was being treated at Scottdale Veterinary Clinic.

Some faint yelps alerted emergency crews to the dog’s presence, Baker said. “The firefighters went back in the basement and found a pit bull covered in ashes, coughing and shaking.”

He said crews wiped off the ashes and comforted the dog.

The veterinary clinic reported the dog, 4-year-old Dozer, was brought to the facility by a daughter of the fire victims.

Dozer suffered from smoke inhalation, some burns on his paws, some cuts and reddened skin.

“We have him on oxygen support, antibiotics and steroids, to help with his lungs,” said Becky Ravenscraft, veterinary technician and office manager at the clinic. “He’s been the sweetest boy throughout.”

The clinic was receiving donations to help cover the cost of Dozer’s care but stopped accepting them shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday.

“We’ve had amazing donations,” Ravenscraft said.

The clinic indicated it would post additional updates about Dozer on its Facebook page, writing, “If he would need to go elsewhere over the weekend, we will post where he is so donations can be sent there.”