Off-duty trooper alerts Unity family to house fire

Jeffrey and Michelle Miller had just gone to sleep Wednesday when they were awakened by someone pounding and kicking at their front door along Donohoe Road in Unity.

“He was actually kicking through the door, and, when I got dressed and down there, he pointed around the back toward the attached garage and said, ‘Hey, your house is on fire,’ ” Jeffrey Miller said.

Miller said the good Samaritan, an off-duty state trooper, spotted the blaze at 487 Donohoe and stopped his car to alert the family.

“We owe our lives to him,” Michelle Miller said.

Jeffrey Miller said the couple quickly got their two young sons, Jonah, 4, and Eli, 2, out of bed and out of the home to safety, and then the trooper assisted Miller in herding the family’s two pet dogs out of the house.

The Millers weren’t certain of the trooper’s identity but plan to personally thank him.

“Our smoke detectors didn’t even have a chance to go off at that time when he was kicking at the door. We were really lucky,” Jeffrey Miller said.

State police spokesman Trooper Steve Limani identified the good Samaritan officer Thursday afternoon as Trooper Tony Anthony. Limani said Anthony lives near the Millers.

Jeffrey Miller said he was able to drive Michelle’s car out of the garage and a moved a truck and construction company trailer parked near the garage away from the fast-moving fire.

A recreational camping vehicle in the garage was destroyed, as was a truck parked nearby, he said.

“But we got the family out quickly to safety, and that was the most important thing,” Miller said.

Lloydsville fire Chief Brian Schultheis said firefighters were fortunate the lone fire hydrant in that area, near the border with Hempfield, was just “a couple of doors away” from the Millers and gave firefighters a steady supply of water.

“We got it knocked down pretty quick. The house also sustained extensive damage, too,” Schultheis said.

In addition to Lloydsville, multiple departments in the area responded.

The fire was under control by 11:45 p.m., with crews remaining on scene to ensure hot spots — particularly in the garage area, where the roof collapsed — did not rekindle.

Firefighters were on the scene until after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Schultheis said.

The Millers are staying with nearby family members. Miller, who owns a construction company, built the home himself more than six years ago.

Schultheis said the American Red Cross is assisting. The home is insured.

Jeffrey Miller said a state police fire marshal told him he believes the fire started in a wood boiler furnace he used to heat the home.

“We never had any problems with it over the past six years. The wind was pretty strong last night, but we just don’t know,” he said.