Monroeville Home Destroyed By Fire
MONROEVILLE (KDKA) – An intense, smoky fire destroyed a home in Monroeville Friday afternoon.
It happened at a home on Victoria Drive.
Smoke billowed from the small-frame house, seeming to engulf the entire block. As firefighters battled the blaze, they were barely visible.
When the smoke cleared, only a shell of the home remained.
Tom Walters, who lives two doors from the house, says the heat was intense.
"I opened up my kitchen window and I could hear crackling," he said. "When I ran through the house and opened the front door, I could smell the smoke and I ran in the front yard. I could see nothing but flames."
The fire broke out just after 1 p.m.
Monroeville Police Chief Doug Cole says initially there were reports of entrapment, but thankfully no one was home.
"The house was well involved in fire," Chief Cole said. "The fire department did an aggressive attack and search of the building with negative results, except for a family pet. The one pet did not survive. They lost a dog in the fire."
It was mail carrier John Gallis who has only been on the job for a few weeks who noticed smoke and called 911. He did not want to be interviewed.
Where and how the fire started is still under investigation, but there was substantial damage in the living room of the house. The intense heat melted siding on one of houses next door.
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