Elderly couple carried out of their Arnold house as fire rips through vacant house next door

Paramedics carried an elderly couple out of their Arnold home when it was threatened by fire Tuesday.

Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading from the empty house it started at, and no one was hurt, officials said.

Todd Hutchison said he called 911 to report the fire in the 1300 block of Fifth Avenue around noon, prompting firefighters from five Alle-Kiski Valley towns to respond.

Hutchison lives in a building at the back of 1337 Fifth Ave. His uncle, Doug Hutchison, 78, and aunt, Ann Hutchison, 82, have lived in their house at the front of the property for 40 years, he said.

“I was doing my laundry and I heard this big crackling noise,” Hutchison said. “Flames were shooting this way toward” their homes.

After calling 911, Hutchison said he banged on his aunt and uncle’s door to wake them up.

Paramedics went in and carried them both out of the house. They sat on chairs across the street nearby with their dog as crews worked.

Siding on both Hutchisons’ homes was melted by the heat from the fire, as was the siding on another empty house on the other side.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes, said Walt Gouza III, chief of Arnold No. 1.

Photos showed smoke billowing out of an attic window at the front of the house, with firefighters using a ladder truck to pour water on it from above.

The fire started at the back of the abandoned house, which Gouza said was a total loss. The cause was unknown and under investigation.

Volunteer firefighters from Arnold, New Kensington, Lower Burrell, Brackenridge and Harrison responded. Gouza said there was such a large response because of the concern of the fire spreading to a second structure.

Wind could have helped the fire spread, but Gouza said it was not an issue.

Todd Hutchison said he believes squatters could be to blame. He said they see people in the house once every two-to-three weeks, their presence given away by light from a candle or flashlight in the house, which he said has no electricity.

“There was squatters in it last week,” he said.

Todd Hutchison, who said he rents from his aunt and uncle, said they have insurance to cover the damage to their homes.

Because their power was out due to the fire and they’re dependent on lift chairs to get up and down their house, Hutchison said his aunt and uncle would stay with relatives.