Smoke alarm helps mother, young son escape fire in Arnold
A smoke alarm helped a woman and her 4-year-old son safely escape a fire that heavily damaged a two-story duplex in Arnold on Monday afternoon.
The fire in the 2000 block of Proctor Alley was reported around 2 p.m. Firefighters had it put out within about 30 minutes.
Kayla Pirozzi said she and her son Jordan had been napping in an upstairs room when a smoke alarm alerted her to the fire. She said she went downstairs and ran into a wall of smoke.
“I saw smoke, grabbed Jordan and got out of there,” she said outside her residence as firefighters worked to put the fire.
Pirozzi and her son were unharmed.
Neighbors and relatives who rushed to the scene provided Pirozzi and her son with shoes and socks to wear while firefighters worked.
Arnold Fire Chief Brian Gouza said the fire appeared to be an accident that happened because a stove burner was accidentally left on.
He said the fire caused a total loss of the 2-story duplex.
He estimated the loss of the house at $60,000 and contents on Pirozzi side at $25,500.
The fire destroyed Pirozzi’s side of the duplex. The other side was unoccupied.
The building is owned by Joanne and Al Corradene. They also owned an East Deer house doors away from the houses that were heavily damaged Friday when a pickup crashed into a gas meter outside one home and started a fire that spread to two others. The pickup heavily damaged the car of a woman who rented from the Corradenes.
“This is surreal,” Joanne Corradene said, looking at the charred white siding.
The family has insurance, Al Corradene said. Pirozzi said she didn’t have renter’s insurance.
The Salvation Army was meeting with Pirozzi to see what it could do to help.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Joanne and Al Corradene owned property damaged in a Dec. 27 East Deer fire.
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