Active power lines sparked a house fire in a Pittsburgh neighborhood. The homeowner is now pleading for help.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A fire destroyed a home in Pittsburgh's Spring Hill neighborhood, leaving the homeowner to plead for help.
"I'm alive, barely," said Anna Smith, who was inside the home when she heard a spark coming off a power line. Neighbors saw it hit the Luella Street home, igniting it.
She was less worried about the contents of her home and more worried about the many feral cats she had rescued that lived inside. She doesn't know where they are, and the battalion chief KDKA-TV spoke with presumes at least some have died.
Most of the roof is gone, the entire second floor is collapsed, and everything inside is charred.
"[I lost] everything, every single thing, even my purse and my car keys," Smith said "I have no way to get into my car to get my cats that did get out, to transfer them somewhere. I have nothing."
Now, she's hoping for some assistance.
"That's all I can ask. They can't bring my house back, they can't bring my animals back, and that's what's most important to me," Smith said. "Is anyone out there going to help," she wondered aloud.
Smith only made it out of her home because firefighters helped her.
"I opened the front door, and everything was on fire. I couldn't get out. I was getting shocked when I touched the screen door, so I ran back in and opened the downstairs door so the cats could run out," Smith said.
She, however, found herself trapped in the burning home, which firefighters said had been energized by the power line, leading to her being shocked when she tried to leave.
Crews who arrived on the scene could hear Smith, 63, screaming inside.
They rescued her but had to wait to throw water on the fire because of the electricity coming off the wires.
"There was nothing we could do but wait for Duquesne Light to arrive on the scene," said Battalion Chief Thomas Pilch.
It took about 15 minutes from the time firefighters arrived for Duquesne Light to turn the power off along the street.
It may seem short, but Pilch said it was enough to make the fire much worse. He called the wait frustrating.
"Helpless. You feel helpless," Pilch said.
Neighbors have feared something like this could happen because of the old homes combined with overhanging trees.
"Something should be done. The trees should be cut around all these houses," said neighbor Albert Kissling.
Duquesne Light sent KDKA-TV a statement, saying they believe the wind gusts, which reached speeds up to 40 mph, were a contributing factor in the fire.
"Crews were promptly dispatched, and DLC de-energized the power line remotely at a substation prior to crews arriving on site," a DLC spokesperson said.
The Red Cross has relayed to KDKA-TV that they are sending a team to help Smith.
If you would like to help, you can go to the donation page on their website and put her name down.
