CAIRNBROOK — A fire that destroyed a western Pennsylvania home over the weekend claimed the life of one person, authorities said.

Emergency officials in Somerset County said the blaze in Shade Township was reported at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Chief Dave Johnson of the Stoystown fire department told The (Somerset) Daily American that crews arrived to find the home engulfed in flames.

He said single-digit temperatures that froze nozzles and also froze up two tankers hampered the battle against the flames. Firefighters from a number of departments in the area rotated shifts and used emergency vehicles to keep warm.

The county coroner’s office is trying to identify the person killed. A state police fire marshal is trying to determine the cause of the blaze, which left the home a total loss.

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