Firefighter saves woman in New Kensington fire, 2nd woman jumps from window
Several New Kensington residents were left homeless, a woman was hurt and a dog died when fire broke out Thursday afternoon at an apartment house along Seventh Street.
One of the residents credits a firefighter who, by chance, was driving by with saving her life.
The fire broke out in the 1100 block about 5:30 p.m. The house, which was converted into apartments, is a few buildings up from the Blind Pig Saloon.
Resident Kaylene Keener said a woman who lives on the first floor jumped out of a window and was taken to a hospital.
Keener lives on the second floor of the apartment house with her husband, Zane, a dog and a cat.
Her smoke detector sounded and she started to unplug everything. She opened the door and was hit with smoke.
New Kensington First Assistant Fire Chief Ed Saliba said Wayne Erb, a life member of New Kensington Fire Station No. 4, was driving home from work when he saw the fire and pulled over to help.
Erb learned someone was still inside — Keener, as it turned out — and took action.
“He went in the front door, started crawling and he could hear the lady in the back part of the first floor,” Saliba said. “He went in so far and kept yelling for her. She came to him and they came out.”
Keener said she was that woman, and credits the firefighter with saving her life.
The family dog died as a result of the fire; it was unclear what happened to the cat.
The other woman in the home at the time of the fire sustained a burn on her nose and possible fractured ankle, Saliba said.
A firefighter was taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison with heat exhaustion.
Saliba said the fire began in a living room on the first floor. State police fire marshal is investigating the cause.
Keener was not injured, but she said they lost everything; they just moved there in December. Her husband was at work.
The Keeners’ grown son, Joshua, said his parents will stay with him until they can find a new place.
They said the Red Cross and Salvation Army are going to help.
The house is within feet of another on one side, and it wasn’t clear whether it sustained any damage. The house on the other side, although not as close, was slightly damaged.
Neighbor Pete Unruh said he was about to sit down to use his computer when he saw flames coming out of the first-floor windows next door.
He called 911 and went to check on his neighbors. His home sustained minor water damage because the entire side of the house facing his was ablaze.
Unruh said the neighboring house is a rental property with at least five people living there. He said a woman was taken away by ambulance.
“You don’t want to see anyone get hurt, and I definitely don’t want to see my house burn down,” Unruh said.
He said firefighters arrived quickly.
Firefighters had no water problems fighting the fire. They used a ladder truck to get a better angle to the top floor and sawed into the side of the second floor to better ventilate the rooms.
Saliba said the house’s construction allowed the flames to spread quickly.
“These old homes were built with what they call balloon-frame construction,” Saliba said. “That means the exterior walls run from the top of the foundation the whole way to the attic. There’s no fire stops. Once that fire got inside the wall in the first floor, it automatically started traveling and got up into the third floor because there’s no fire stops. They were built before there were building codes.
“They had smoke detectors and they were working.”
It was unclear if the home was a total loss. Firefighters from Arnold and Lower Burrell also responded.
Michael DiVittorio is a TribLive reporter covering general news in Western Pennsylvania, with a penchant for festivals and food. He can be reached at mdivittorio@triblive.com.
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