Derry Township fire victim died of smoke inhalation, coroner says

The fire that killed a Derry Township woman on Christmas Eve started on the kitchen stove in the rear of the house, a fire official said.

The victim, Esther Ann McChesney, 78, was trapped inside her Pizza Barn Road home and died from her injuries, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. Preliminary autopsy results indicated that McChesney died of smoke inhalation and possibly inhalation of carbon monoxide, Carson said Monday.

McChesney was found near a first-floor bay window, said Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine. A state police fire marshal investigated the cause of the fire, which was reported about 5:30 p.m., Piantine said.

The victim’s husband, Leonard McChesney, was using 5-gallon buckets of water to try to douse the flames when they arrived on the scene, Piantine said.

“The whole bottom (first floor) of the house was engulfed in flames,” when firefighters arrived on the scene, Piantine said of the two-story wood-frame structure.

Firefighters had to lay about 1,000 feet of hose to get to the nearest fire hydrant, Piantine said.

Bradenville firefighters were assisted by several neighboring companies, including Blairsville, Derry Borough, Blacklick, Lloydsville and New Alexandria, Piantine said.

As they were battling the fire on Pizza Barn Road, a fire destroyed a house on Twin Oaks Road, which is off Route 981, south of New Alexandria, Piantine said.

That fire, reported about 6:20 p.m., was caused by a wall heater, he said. The identity of the homeowner was not available, and no one was injured in that fire.

Several fire departments from Westmoreland and Indiana counties battled the Christmas Eve blaze on Twin Oaks Road, Piantine said.

No firefighters were injured while battling either fire, Piantine said, but they had to contend with the weather conditions.