10 escape mobile home fire in Sewickley Township

A family of 10 escaped a fire early Thursday that destroyed their Sewickley Township mobile home.

The structure on Finch Lane was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at Sewickley Pines Manor after the call at 3:42 a.m., Hutchinson Fire Capt. Frank Sever Jr. said. It took about 90 minutes to get under control in below-zero temperatures.

Resident Scott Ashbaugh told reporters at the scene that his home was full of smoke, but he and three adults and six children were able to escape safely.

“I have nowhere to go,” he told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. “We don’t have no clue what’s going to go on next.”

The iced-over ruins sat in the mobile home park Thursday morning. The low temperatures made fire truck water pumpers freeze, but that didn’t happen until the blaze was under control, Sever said.

Firefighters warmed up in a heated tent set up by Murrysville Medic One. A state police fire marshal was called to the scene.

Ashbaugh told reporters he bounced back from a house fire in the past and he expects the same now. The local chapter of the American Red Cross is helping the family with clothing, food and temporary housing.

“That is possessions; that’s my family,” Ashbaugh said. “You can’t replace your family, but you can replace possessions.”

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.