8 people displaced, four injuries reported after fire in Homestead
HOMESTEAD (KDKA) - Three buildings were damaged, and eight people have been displaced as a result of what is being described as a "very active fire" in Homestead.
According to information provided by the fire chief, they were called to the scene around 9:30 this morning in the 200 block of E. 17th Street.
While battling the fire, four firefighters were injured and taken to the hospital to be treated for "minor injuries."
Due to the weather conditions today, crews have been struggling to get the fire knocked down.
Chief of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services Matt Brown is from the Homestead area and understood the difficult nature of putting out fires in rowhouses.
"Rowhouses, houses that are literally three to four feet apart. But again, when you have these extreme[ly] cold conditions with the wind coupled, any event becomes a bad event quickly. These firefighters know that, and they acted very fast considering a majority of these firefighters were volunteers.
"Unfortunately, we had one structure that went over to two, then three as the fire spread, primarily due to extreme conditions, extreme cold, there were frozen hydrants involved," Chief Brown added.
The Red Cross and the Salvation Army are helping those displaced by this major fire.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.