A family and its three dogs are safe after a fire damaged their Plum home Friday.
The fire was called in about 1 p.m. when Brian Churchfield, 44, noticed a fire in his laundry room.
“My wife tried to throw a pitcher of water on it,” Churchfield said moments after Plum, Lower Burrell and other fire departments fought the Shady Avenue fire. “And I tried to throw a dog bowl of water on it — and nothing.”
At that point, his wife, children and three small dogs had made it outside. He said he tried to grab his cat, Gabby, but he couldn’t get to her in time. He didn’t know if the cat escaped.
Churchfield and his wife, Jessica, had the day off in observance of Good Friday. He said the electricity had gone out in his home in two rooms before the fire sparked, leading him to replace the breaker just before heavy smoke appeared.
The family has lived at that house for nearly 12 years.
Churchfield said he has homeowner’s insurance but wasn’t sure how much of the family’s belongings were salvageable.
“There was a lot of smoke damage,” he said.
A Plum fire chief declined to comment. An Allegheny County fire marshal declined to comment until an official report was written.
