Running up to a burning house to check for potentially trapped occupants is just a normal part of the job for West Deer police officer and volunteer firefighter Edward Newman.

Newman had been on routine patrol last Saturday when he spotted smoke coming from the 250 block of Little Deer Creek Valley Road in Indiana Township.

“I saw the black smoke and I obviously pursued it to where the black smoke was,” Newman said.

Newman had been patrolling by Pittsburgh Northeast Airport in West Deer, which is about a 3-mile drive away.

As he got closer to the smoke, he could see that a house was on fire. By the time he made it all the way there, it was fully consumed by flames. He called the fire in around 10:30 p.m.

“The second floor had already collapsed in, and the front of the house was starting to fall in,” Newman said.

Newman said a neighbor informed him that the man who lives in the house could possibly still be inside. He tried to get close to the back part of the house to see if he could see inside, but it was too unsafe.

“It was really hot, and I was unable to approach it,” Newman said.

By that time, West Deer police Officer Trevor Elza had arrived to help. Newman said Elza went to the neighboring house to alert anyone who could be inside of the blaze. The fire completely destroyed the originating house and caused damage to the neighboring house.

The man who lives in the destroyed house had been laying on the lawn. He heard Elza knocking on his neighbor’s door, and alerted police to his presence, Newman said.

“Their lawn was almost like a hay field, so we couldn’t see him. He was laying down,” Newman said. “He must have heard us banging on the other door. He stood up and that’s when Officer Elza went over to him.”

The man who lives in the neighboring house told the Tribune-Review last week that he had been asleep, and woke up because police were banging on his door. He declined to give his name.

Newman said the neighbor threw buckets of water out his door before going back inside. Police ordered him to come outside, but he refused. Elza and an Indiana Township police officer went into the man’s house and eventually got him out.

The man who lives in the house that was destroyed was taken to a hospital to be evaluated but has since been released. The man who lives in the neighboring house wasn’t hurt. Newman said the men were renting the homes. He didn’t know who owns the homes.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal was investigating the cause of the fire. Matt Brown of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services said the cause will remain undetermined due to the severe structural damage of the home.

The American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania last week said it provided one adult with shelter, clothing and food and was working to connect with other affected residents. The organization didn’t respond to requests for further comment.

Newman said his actions were a routine part of the job, and he didn’t really think much of it. He’s a volunteer firefighter with West Deer Volunteer Fire Company #3.

“I’m just glad we were able to see it, and he was able to get out, and they were both out and safe,” Newman said. “That’s all that matters.”

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